IN   MEMORIAM 
BERNARD  MOSES 


UBRARV 
SGMOOL 


/■ 


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CHRIST 


IN 


A  GERMAN  HOME, 


AS 


SEEN  IN  THE  MARRIED  LIFE 


OF 


FREDERICK  AND  CAROLINE  PERTHES, 

1/ 


AMERICAN  TRACT   SOCIETY, 

150  NASSAU-STREET,  NEW  YORK. 


Z    3/5- 

SCHOOlij 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1872,  by  the  Amertcai* 
Tbact  Society,  in  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


«€RNABD  MOSES 


%.'* 


A> 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 


There  is  a  circle  of  our  most  intelligent  readers  fa- 
miliar with  the  two  octavo  volumes  published  in  Eng- 
land, containing  an  admirable  translation  of  Professor 
Perthes'  biography  of  his  father  and  mother.  Many  of 
our  leading  presidents  and  professors  of  colleges  and 
theological  seminaries,  our  most  learned  divines  and 
authors,  have  confessed  that  that  work  is  one  of  the 
most  interesting  which  our  age  has  produced.  Its  size 
alone  has  precluded  its  pubhcation  in  this  country  ;  for 
the  work  is  of  so  high  a  character  as  to  appeal  to  a 
very  intellectual  but  rather  limited  class  of  readers. 
The  rare  value  of  the  book  has  long  prompted  me  to 
desire  to  see  the  best  things  in  it  made  the  common 
property  of  a  large  public  ;  and  at  my  request  a  genial 
and  gifted  friend  has  gone  over  the  whole  work,  and 
culled  out  those  portions  which  especially  illustrate  the 
family  life  of  Frederick  and  Caroline  Perthes,  and  which 
dehneate  that  rarest  and  most  beautiful  spectacle  in 
the  world,  a  truly  Christian,  highly  refined,  and  most 
amiable  and  gentle  home. 


885968 


4  INTJadr^jaQTOEY  NOTE. 

"Et  vill  fes  renit35p:ibeve^  by  some  and  ouglit  to  be 
known  by  all  that  the  names'  of  both  Frederick  and 
Caroline  Perthes,  were  perfectly  familiar  in  Germany. 
He  was  not  only  the  greatest  publisher  of  his  time  and 
nation,  but  a  leader  in  great  political,  theological, 
and  educational  enterprises,  and  an  intimate  friend 
of  almost  every  other  great  man  of  his  day.  She  was 
a  daughter  of  the  distinguished  poet  and  essayist 
Claudius,  and  a  woman  of  rare  loveliness  and  con- 
spicuous accomplishments.  Their  home  was  the  famil- 
iar assembling  place  of  all  that  was  good  and  great  in 
Germany,  during  the  earher  years  of  the  present  cen- 
tury. The  portrayal  of  their  life  must  therefore  be  a 
kind  of  panorama  of  all  that  the  student  of  German 
life  and  character  desires  to  see  in  the  Augustan  age 
of  German  literature.  And  busied  as  Perthes  was  with 
all  the  great  problems  of  his  time,  and  wielding  a  lead- 
ing hand  in  all  the  religious,  literary,  patriotic,  and 
commercial  movements  of  Germany,  even  a  brief  sketch 
like  the  present  must  necessarily  open  up  a  field  of 
great  interest. 

The  central  figure  of  the  book  after  all  is  Caroline, 
the  gentle  wife,  not  the  resolute,  stirring  and  wonder- 
fully able  husband.  And  it  was  not  at  all  a  surprise 
to  me  when  the  author  of  the  biography.  Professor 
Perthes  of  Bonn,  told  me  that  by  far  the  larger  number 
of  letters  which  came  to  him  after  the  publication  of 


INTKODUCTOEY  NOTE.  5 

the  work  in  Germany,  spoke  of  the  deep  interest  which 
had  been  awakened  in  the  lovely  character  of  his  moth- 
er. For  among  all  the  women  whose  lives  have  be- 
come famihar  to  English  and  American  readers,  there 
is  none  who  can  be  compared  with  her  in  the  combina- 
tion of  qualities  which  make  up  the  true  Christian 
woman. 

W.  L.  GAGE. 
Haetfoed,  Or. 


CONTENTS. 


I.  Caroline  Claudius page      9 

n.  Frederick  Christopher  Perthes  ~ 13 

UL  Betrothal  and  Marriage 23 

IV.  The  Business  and  the  Family 35 

V.  Christian  Experience -- — 41 

VI.  Napoleon 46 

VII.  Patriotism 52 

YLU.  The  French  in  Hamburg 62 

IX.  Exile '. 73 

X.  Vicissitudes  of  "War 85 

XI.  TheRetumHome 93 

Xn.  Death  of  Claudius ^ 100 

XIII.  Correspondence 119 

XTV.  Eeligion  and  Rationalism 132 

XV.  Marriage  of  the  Eldest  Daughter 137 


8  CONTENTS. 

XVI.  Marriage  of  the  Second  Daughter «-     - 157 

XVII.  Matthias  at  the  University - 169 

XVni.  The  Last  Days  of  Caroline  Perthes 184 

XIX.  Gotha - 205 

XX.  Perthes' Views  of  Life  - 216 

XXI.  Last  Days  of  Perthes 221 


CHRIST 


IN 


A    GERMAN   HOME 


CAROLINE    CLAUDIUS. 

jN  the  year  1796  there  lived  in  Wands- 
beck,  a  pleasant  little  town  in  North- 
ern Germany,  Matthias  Claudius,  a 
truly  good  man,  and  an  excellent  pop- 
^  -^J  ular  author.  His  writings  were  earnest,  at 
the  same  time  humorous,  noble,  and  patriotic.  His 
nature  was  impulsive  but  kindly.  A  strong  faith  in 
the  truths  of  the  Bible,  and  a  childlike  trust  in  a 
heavenly  Father's  love,  banished  all  gloomy  and 

disturbing  thoughts  from  his  heart  and  household. 

2 


10  CHKIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

Few  would  liave  recognized  the  man  of  genius  in 
the  ungainly  figure,  arrayed  in  a  homely  dressing- 
gown,  or  in  the  pale  face  from  which  the  hair  was 
tightly  drawn  back  and  fastened  with  a  comb,  but 
for  the  heavenly  fire  which  flashed  from  his  fine 
blue  eyes. 

His  daughter  reflected  the  genial  nature  of  her 
father,  and  the  noble  and  womanly  simplicity  of  her 
mother.  The  great  works  of  Palestrina,  Leonardo 
Leo,  Bach,  Handel,  and  Mozart,  the  language  and 
literature  of  England,  and  intellectual  pursuits  of 
all  kinds,  found  a  place  amid  their  daily  domestic 
duties. 

Caroline  Claudius,  the  eldest  daughter,  was  born 
in  1774.  Her  biographer  describes  her  thus  :  "  Al- 
though there  was  nothing  remarkable  or  dazzling 
in  her  general  appearance,  notwithstanding  her 
fine,  regular  features,  her  slender  figure,  and  her 
delicate  complexion,  yet  the  treasures  of  fancy  and 
feeling,  the  strength  and  repose  of  character,  and 
the  clearness  of  intellect  which  shone  in  her  deep 
hazel  eyes,  gave  her  a  quiet  but  irresistible  cLarm. 
Throughout  her  whole  Hfe  she  inspired  unbounded 
confidence  in  all  who  approached  her.  To  her  the 
glad  brought  their  joys,  secure  of  finding  joyous 
sympathy,  and  to  many  of  the  afflicted,  both  in 


CAKOLINE  CLAUDIUS.  11 

body  and  in  mind,  she  ministered  consolation,  taught 
resignation,  and  inspired  them  with  fresh  courage. 
Accustomed  to  the  simple  life  of  her  parental  home, 
contact  with  the  bustle  of  the  outward  world  ap- 
peared fraught  with  dangers  to  her  childlike,  simple 
walk  with  God.  Household  duties,  study  and  mu- 
sic, occupied  her  time.  When  more  advanced  in 
life,  she  retained  a  rich,  clear  voice,  and  a  fine  mu- 
sical taste.  She  was  acquainted  with  the  modern 
languages,  and  had  gone  far  enough  in  Latin  to  en- 
able her  subsequently  to  assist  her  sons. 

"  While  Caroline  remained  at  home,  she  received 
but  few  impressions  from  without.  She  clung  with 
reverential  afi'ectlon  to  the  Princess  Galhtzin,  who 
was  a  frequent  visitor  at  her  father's  house,  and 
who  reciprocated  the  attachment  with  so  much 
warmth  that  to  the  end  of  her  life  she  preserved  a 
motherly  friendship  for  her.  By  the  Countess  Julia 
Eeventlow,  Caroline  was  equally  beloved.  She  had 
been  at  Emkendorf  on  a  visit  of  some  months,  and 
became  so  great  a  favorite  with  the  family,  that 
they  would  have  taken  her  with  them  to  Italy,  had 
they  been  able  to  obtain  her  father's  consent.  The 
first  great  event  in  her  life  was  the  death  of  her  sis- 
ter Christine,  who  was  only  a  year  or  two  younger 
than  herself.     A  letter  that  she  wrote  at  that  time 


12         CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

to  the  Countess  Eeventlow  at  Eoine,  lias  been  pre- 
served. 

"'I  am  like  a  little  child,  who,  when  it  is  in 
tronble,  stretches  out  its  arms  to  those  it  loves,  and 
finds  pleasure  in  weeping  on  their  bosom.  How 
often  have  I  thus  wished  to  be  with  you,  dear 
countess !  But  though  my  arms  cannot  reach  you, 
my  letter  may.  We  have  had  a  sad  time !  Our 
dear  Christine  was  attacked  with  nervous  fever, 
and  died  on  the  second  of  July.  Gently  she  fell 
asleep,  after  having  suffered  much;  and  now  that 
the  pains  of  death  are  over,  I  would  not  wish  her 
back.  How  dear  has  the  death-bed  become  to  me  ! 
It  is  at  such  times  that  we  feel  deeply — and  in  a 
manner  that  we  can  never  forget — how  necessary  it 
is  to  seek  for  something  that  may  support  us  in 
death,  and  accompany  us  beyond.' 

"It  was  on  the  27th  of  November,  1796,  that 
Perthes  first  saw  Caroline  in  her  father's  house. 
'  Her  bright  eyes,  and  her  open,  clear  look  pleased 
me,  and  I  loved  her,'  said  Perthes.  And  who  was 
Perthes  ?" 


11. 


FREDERICK  CHRISTOPHER   PERTHES. 

Cp^^^p/EEDEEICK   CHEISTOPHER  PER- 

~  *""  '^  thes  was  born  at  Eudolfsbadt,  in  1772, 
a  year  of  famine  known  in  Germany  as 
the  ^reat  hunger-year."  His  father, 
a  lawyer  of  considerable  distinction,  died  at 
the  age  of  thirty-seven,  leaving  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren almost  destitute.  Frederick  was  adopted  by 
his  grandmother.  But  she  died  when  he  was  only 
seven  years  old,  leaving  him  to  the  care  of  his 
uncle,  Frederick  Heubel,  who  kept  house  with  an 
unmarried  sister,  Caroline  Heubel,  a  woman  of  great 
strength  of  character. 

Notwithstanding  their  slender  means,  Frederick 
was  affectionately  received  into  their  home,  faith- 
fully trained  and  carefully  instructed. 

Possessing  a  very  excitable  temperament,  he 
always  ascribed  to  the  influence  of  his  aunt  and 


14:  CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

uncle  the  horror  with  which  he  regarded  every 
kind  of  immorahty,  and  the  respect  he  felt  for  the 
rights  of  others. 

At  the  age  of  fourteen  it  was  thought  best  to  ap- 
prentice him  to  a  bookseller;  so  he  was  sent  to 
Leipzig,  with  a  friend,  to  seek  a  master.  One  de- 
cHned  taking  him  because  he  could  not  conjugate 
the  verb  amo.  A  tall,  gaunt  man,  in  a  flame-color- 
ed overcoat  reaching  to  his  heels,  first  frightened 
the  poor  boy  into  silence,  then  condemned  him  as 
"  too  shy  for  the  book-trade." 

At  last  he  was  kindly  received  by  Adam  Bohme, 
but  pronounced  too  delicate  and  small  for  work  at 
that  time,  and  was  sent  home  for  a  year  to  grow. 

At  the  end  of  the  year,  indentures  were  signed 
by  the  uncle  and  master,  and  the  boy  again  set  out 
for  Leipzig.  Upon  arriving  there  he  was  greeted 
with,  "  Why,  boy,  you  are  no  bigger  than  you  were 
a  year  ago;  but  we  will  make  trial  of  it,  and  see 
how  we  get  on  together."  The  next  morning  he 
received  the  following  instructions :  "  Frederick, 
you  must  let  your  hair  grow  in  front  to  a  brush, 
and  behind  to  a  cue,  and  get  a  pair  of  wooden 
buckles ;  lay  aside  your  sailor's  round  hat — a  cocked 
one  is  ordered."  This  once-universal  custom  had 
latterly  disappeared,  but  Bohme  tolerated  no  new 


FREDERICK  C.  PERTHES.  15 

fashion  among  his  apprentices.  "You  are  not  to 
leave  the  house  either  morning  or  evening,  without 
my  permission.  On  Sundays  you  must  accompany 
me  to  church." 

His  fare  was  by  no  means  luxurious.  Every 
morning  at  six  he  received  a  cup  of  tea,  and  every 
Sunday,  as  a  provision  for  the  coming  week,  seven 
lumps  of  sugar,  and  seven  halfpence  to  purchase 
bread. 

"  Wliat  I  find  hardest,"  wrote  Frederick  to  his 
uncle,  "  is,  that  I  have  only  a  halfpenny  roll  in  the 
morning.  I  find  this  to  be  scanty  allowance.  In 
the  afternoon,  from  one  till  eight,  we  have  not  a 
morsel;  that  is  what  I  call  hunger.  I  think  we 
ought  to  have  something."  Dinner  and  supper  he 
took  with  the  family,  in  abundance ;  but,  alas  for 
him  when  fat  roast-meat  with  gourd-sauce  was  set 
upon  the  table  !  for  it  was  a  law  that  whatever  was 
put  upon  the  plate  must  be  eaten. 

"  That  which  troubles  me  most,"  writes  the  boy, 
"is  my  master's  passionate  temper.  If  we  have 
made  the  shghtest  blunder,  he  breaks  out  upon  us ; 
this  is  very  different  from  what  I  have  been  accus- 
tomed to,  and  I  feel  it  very  hard  to  bear;  but  I 
shall  get  used  to  it  in  time." 

When  the  fit  of  passion  was  over,  Bohme  would 


16  CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

good-naturedly  endeavor  to  make  peace  with  the 
boy  by  bringing  him  fruit,  or  sharing  with  him  his 
afternoon  coffee  and  the  accompanying  lumps  of 
sugar. 

Frederick  was  kept  busily  at  work  running  upon 
errands,  or  collating  for  hours  upon  the  stone  flags 
of  the  little  shop  which  Bohme  never  thought  of 
warming.  At  last  the  boy's  feet  became  so  badly 
frost-bitten  that  he  was  unable  to  walk,  when  a 
surgeon  was  sent  for.  He  came,  and  declared  that 
another  day's  neglect  would  have  made  amputa- 
tion necessary. 

For  nine  long  weeks  the  boy  was  a  prisoner  in  his 
little  garret-room;  but  not  neglected,  for  his  mas- 
ter's second  daughter,  Fredericka,  a  lovely  child  of 
twelve  years,  took  him  under  her  charge,  and  tend- 
ed him  with  care  and  affection.  All  day  long  she 
sat,  knitting-needles  in  hand,  by  the  bedside  of  the 
invalid,  talking  with  him,  consohng,  and  minis- 
tering. 

Upon  the  floor,  among  the  old  books,  lay  a 
translation  of  Muratori's  History  of  Italy ;  and  the 
poor  girl,  with  never-failing  kindness,  read  through 
several  of  the  ponderous  quartos  in  the  dusky  little 
garret.  A  strong  friendship  thus  sprang  up  be- 
tween the  children,  which  lasted  for  years. 


FREDERICK  C.  PERTHES.  17 

Added  to  other  trials,  were  tlie  deep  longings 
for  home,  for  the  wild,  free  rambles  through  wood 
and  mountain,  and  more  than  all,  for  the  affection 
he  had  always  there  received.  "Dearest  uncle," 
he  writes,  "all  is  well  with  me,  but  for  a  sort  of 
melancholy  of  quite  a  special  kind ;  for  when  I  am 
alone  I  fall  to  thinking  of  my  former  happy  life, 
now  for  ever  passed,  away.  If  I  am  good  now 
and  continue  so,  I  have  to  thank  you  and  my  aunt 
for  it." 

In  three  years  Frederick  succeeded  so  well  in 
gaining  the  confidence  of  his  master,  that  he  was 
left  in  charge  of  the  business  during  an  absence  of 
some  weeks.  And  his  biogi-apher  records  that  his 
master  was  so  much  pleased  upon  his  return,  that 
in  acknowledgment  of  his  services  he  presented  him 
with  a  pair  of  silken  garters. 

Gradually  his  work  became  easier,  but  his  heart 
was  filled  with  intense  longings  to  pursue  studies 
which  neither  his  time  nor  his  means  would  permit 
him  to  undertake.  "  Dearest,  best  uncle,"  he  wrote, 
at  the  age  of  nineteen,  "it  is  certainly  true  that  he 
who  strives  after  improvement  is  thereby  capable 
of  exalted  enjoyment ;  and  I  have  myself  often  had 
such  bright  hours  when,  by  meditation  on  tJie  per- 
fection of  God  and  his  works,  and  by  consciousness 


18  CHKTST  IN  A  GEKMAN  HOME. 

of  my  own  dignity  as  a  human  being,  I  enjoyed  a 
foretaste  of  the  destiny  ultimately  in  store  for  me. 
At  such  seasons  all,  all  was  joy ;  and  I  saw  every- 
thing around  me  laboring  onward  to  perfection. 
Then  all  men  were  my  brothers,  advancing  with  me 
to  the  same  goal." 

"  The  most  earnest  wish  of  my  heart,"  he  writes, 
on  another  occasion,  "is,  for  a  friend  to  whom  I 
might  freely  unbosom  myself,  who  would  strengthen 
me  when  I  am  weak,  and  encourage  me  when  I  be- 
gin to  despair;  but,  alas!  I  find  no  such  friend, 
and  yet  I  feel  an  irresistible  necessity  to  unburden 
my  heart,  and  so  overpowering  is  this  longing,  that 
1  could  press  every  man  to  my  breast  and  say. 
Thou,  too,  art  God's  image." 

Despite  all  hinderances,  he  was  gaining  in  cul- 
ture and  knowledge  of  life,  in  its  varied  relations, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  attracting  friends,  w]  o  not 
only  made  him  acquainted  with  many  of  the  first 
wiiters  of  the  age,  but  were  also  a  source  of  much 
happiness. 

"  Never,  since  I  came  here,"  he  writes,  "  have  I 
enjoyed  such  pleasant,  heart-quickening  hours  as 
now,  in  the  society  of  my  beloved  new  friends ;  the 
moment  I  enter  I  read  welcome  in  their  eyes.  I 
am  one  of  the  happiest  of  men ;  the  friendship,  and 


FBEDEBICK  C.  PERTHES.  19 

regard,  and  affection  of  good  men  accompany  me 
at  every  step." 

Before  his  term  of  service  came  to  an  end,  Hoff- 
man, the  Hamburgh  bookseller,  anxious  to  engage 
Perthes  as  an  assistant,  requested  his  master  to  set 
him  free.  Bohme  consented;  a  grand  entertain- 
ment was  given,  in  the  course  of  which  he  told 
Perthes  to  rise,  gave  him  a  gentle  slap  on  the  face, 
presented  him  with  a  sword,  and  addressed  him  as 
Sie^  (you.)  Thus  his  apprenticeship  to  the  book- 
trade  was  at  an  end. 

On  the  13th  of  May,  1793,  Perthes  took  leave 
of  Leipzig,  where  he  had  spent  six  years — "  happy 
years  of  earnest  striving,"  as  he  himself  called 
them. 

His  first  impressions  of  Hamburg  were  most 
agreeable ;  the  scenery  charmed  him,  and  the  frank 
hospitality  of  his  master's  family  delighted  him. 
Business  called  out  all  his  activities,  but  he  had 
frequent  opportunities  of  leisure  which  afforded 
much  enjoyment.  "  He  must  be  dead  to  the  beau- 
ties of  nature,"  he  writes,  "  who  could  be  unhappy 
here.  You  can  imagine  nothing  finer  or  grander 
than  the  neighboring  country." 

*  A  mark  of  respect  in  Germauy,  Cliildreu  aud  servants  are 
addressed  as  du  (thou.) 


20  CHKIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

But  as  time  passed  on  lie  became  coDScions  of 
a  deeper  want.  "My  heart,"  lie  tells  his  uncle, 
"  yearns  for  the  society  of  many,  and  of  cultivated 
men.  Such  society  is  a  necessity  for  me,  and  I 
must  compass  it,  unless  I  am  to  sink  entirely.  .... 
How  my  heart  beats,  when  I  think  of  such  eminent 
families  as  those  of  Blisch,  Eeimarus  and  Sieveking, 
and  when  I  meet  with  young  men  who  are  privi- 
leged to  enjoy  in  their  society  the  genuine  pleasures 
of  life,  I  must  and  will  find  an  entree  speedily." 

This  w^as,  however,  no  easy  attainment,  as  the 
social  distinctions  in  Hamburg  between  a  retail  and 
wholesale  dealer,  were  very  great.  Hopeless  as  the 
wish  seemed,  it  was  at  last  realized :  and  at  twenty- 
two  we  find  him  associated  v/ith  the  most  distin- 
guished families  of  Hamburg,  some  of  whom  were 
destined  to  exert  a  powerful  influence  upon  his 
character. 

*'  Perthes  is  a  man  to  whom  I  feel  marvellously 
attracted  by  his  tender  susceptibility,  and  his  earn- 
est striving  after  all  that  is  noble,"  writes  one  of 
his  new  friends.  "I  thank  you  for  having  made 
me  acquainted  with  such  a  man."  Another  says, 
"  I  could  not  withdraw  my  eyes  from  him ;  the 
charm  of  his  external  a^Dpearance  I  could  not  but 
regard  as  the  true  expression  of  his  inner  nature." 


FREDERICK  C.  PERTHES.  21 

He  is  described  as  small  and  slender,  though 
firm  and  well  formed.  His  curling  hair  and  fine 
complexion,  and  a  peculiarly  delicate  curve  in  the 
formation  of  the  eye,  gave  to  his  appearance  an 
almost  girhsh  charm.  When  he  had  determined 
on  carrying  out  some  settled  purpose,  the  decision 
and  resoluteness  of  his  mind  were  manifest  in  the 
very  aspect  of  his  slender  form;  his  strong,  sono- 
rous voice,  his  bearing,  and  every  gesture,  indicated 
that  he  both  could  and  would  carry  out  his  resolu- 
tion. "  Little  Perthes  has  the  most  manly  spirit  of 
us  all,"  said  his  friends;  and  they  had  many  stories 
to  tell  of  the  surprising  power  which  his  invincible 
will  had  exercised  over  the  stubbornness  and  physi- 
cal superiority  of  strong,  rough  men.  Perthes  w^as 
conscious  of  this  power,  and  it  gave  him  courage  to 
encounter  difficulties  from  which  many,  possessed 
of  more  physical  strength,  w^ould  have  shrunk. 

For  a  long  time  he  had  regarded  his  beloved 
book-trade  as  one  of  the  greatest  importance,  not 
as  a  means  of  gain,  but  of  influence  upon  the  intel- 
lectual life  and  growth  of  the  people.  Determined 
to  meet  the  literary  wants  of  the  age,  in  1796  he 
established  himself  in  Hamburg  as  a  bookseller. 
This  was  a  bold  undertaking  for  a  young  man  of 
twenty-four  years,  and  one  requiring  a  greater  cap- 


22  CHKIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

ital  than  he  had  at  first  anticipated ;  but  the  kind- 
ness of  his  friends  reheved  him  from  all  perplexities. 

He  was  the  first  bookseller  who  had  a  complete 
assortment  of  the  best  works,  old  and  new,  in  all 
the  various  branches  of  literature,  classified  and 
arranged.  Added  to  these,  were  all  the  important 
periodicals  of  the  day. 

Perthes'  mother  had  been  left  almost  portionless 
at  the  death  of  his  father.  To  his  great  joy  he  was 
now  enabled  to  give  a  home  to  her  and  to  his  sister. 
"My  own  domestic  arrangements,"  he  tells  his 
aunt,  "  are  on  a  small  scale,  but  tolerably  neat.  I 
think  you  would  approve  of  them ;  at  least  my  love 
of  order  is  becoming  a  terror  to  all  the  household." 


BETROTHAL  AND   MARRIAGE. 


^MONG  the  frequenters  of  the  httle  shop 
was  Frederick  Jacobi,  a  man  of  about 
L^  fifty  years  of  age.  Perthes  was  attract- 
ed by  his  noble  bearing  and  intellectual 
superiority,  while  he  was  in  turn  won  by 
the  young  man's  candor  and  animation.  A  strong 
friendship  sprang  up  between  them,  and  Perthes 
became  a  familiar  guest  in  Jacobi's  house  at  Wald- 
beck.  "I  love  and  honor  the  glorious  man  as  I 
love  and  honor  none  besides,"  he  writes  to  his 
uncle,  "  I  met  him  with  a  full  heart ;  he  recognized 
it,  and  thought  it  worth  his  while  to  occupy  himself 
with  my  inner  being." 

The  families  of  Jacobi  and  Claudius  were  inti- 
mately acquainted,  and  it  was  thus  that  Per- 
thes first  met  Caroline,  then  in  her  twenty-third 
year. 


24         CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

Soon  after  lie  was  invited,  with  Jacobi,  to  spend 
Christmas  eve  at  the  hoiise  of  a  friend.  Among 
the  guests  Perthes  found  Claudius  and  his  whole 
family.  Before  the  entertainment  commenced  acci- 
dent threw  him  alone  with  Caroline,  in  a  side-room. 
He  had  not  a  word  to  say,  but  experienced  a  calm 
and  a  happiness  vv^hich  he  had  never  felt  before. 
The  Christmas  games  began,  but  he  had  eyes  for 
nothing  but  the  expression  of  quiet  pleasure  which 
beamed  in  Caroline's  face.  In  his  opinion  the  best 
that  the  evening  offered  was  hers  by  right,  and 
yet  her  younger  sister's  gift  seemed  better  than 
hers.  On  the  topmc^t  branch  of  the  Christmas- 
tree  hung  an  apple,  finer  and  more  richly  gilt  than 
any;  he  dexterously  reached  it,  and,  blushing  deep- 
ly, presented  it,  to  the  no  small  surprise  of  the 
company,  to  the  conscious  Carohne.  From  that 
evening  things  went  on  between  them  as  they  go 
on  between  those  who  are  destined  to  share  the 
joys  and  sorrows  of  life  together  as  husband  and 
wife.  "Indeed,"  said  Klopstock,  the  poet,  as  he 
was  returning  with  Perthes  from  the  silver-wedding 
of  Claudius  in  March,  "  you  young  people  are  quite 
unconscious  of  the  love  that  we  have  long  seen  in 
you  both!"  Perthes  was,  however,  well  aware  of 
the  affection  which  was  daily  gTov»dng  stronger,  but 


BETROTHAL  AND  MAREIAGE.  25 

felt  the  distance  between  Claudius  and  himself 
too  great  to  venture  an  approach,  save  through  the 
mediation  of  Jacobi  and  his  sisters. 

"  Thank  God,  my  dear  Perthes !"  wrote  Helena 
Jacobi,  "  you  are  tridy  loved,  and  inasmuch  as  my 
courage  is  as  great  as  yours  is  small,  I  see  a  pros- 
pect of  great  happiness  for  you.  I  could  not  hear 
anything  yesterday  from  Caroline  herself,  for  I  did 
not  find  her  one  minute  alone;  but  I  ascertained 
from  her  mother  enough  to  inspire  me  with  great 
confidence,  and  Carohne  looked  so  friendly  that 
it  was  clear  she  had  something  pleasant  in  her 
thoughts."  .      <K 

A  few  days  later,  Perthes  applied  to  Caroline  in 
person.  "How  can  I  ever  forget,"  he  afterwards 
wrote,  "  that  day  of  deep  emotion  in  which  I  reveal- 
ed my  love  to  you!  Silent  and  motionless  you 
stood  before  me;  not  a  word  had  you  to  say  to 
me,  but  as  I  was  sorrowfully  turning  to  leave  you, 
you  affectionately  put  your  hand  in  mine." 

Caroline's  love  was  frankly  confessed  and  pledg- 
ed in  the  course  of  the  evening,  but  to  her  father 
the  decision  seemed  a  hasty  one.  Perthes  had  but 
just  entered  his  twenty-fifth  year ;  his  business  pros- 
pects were  still  uncertain.  More  than  all,  Claudius 
felt  a  father's  unwillingness  to  part  from  a  beloved 


26  CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

daughter.  Wliile  he  did  not  oppose  the  union,  he 
dechned  giving  his  formal  consent. 

But  it  was  with  httle  uneasiness,  on  that  ac- 
count, that  Perthes  set  out  for  Leipzig  a  few  days 
later.  In  vain  he  looked  for  letters  from  Caroline, 
but  at  the  end  of  a  fortnight  one  came  from  her 
father,  which  ran  thus : 

"Dear  Mr.  Perthes:  We  are  glad  to  hear  that 
you  arrived  happily  and  safe,  and  that  you  are  well 
and  mindful  of  us.  Caroline  has  received  and  read 
your  letters  from  Brunswick  and  Leipzig,  and 
thanks  you  kindly  for  them.  She  would  answer 
them  herself;  but  while  the  consent  of  her  parents 
is  not  formally  given,  she  is  not  at  liberty  to  open 
her  heart  fully.  It  is  better,  therefore,  that  she 
should  postpone  her  answer  till  your  return." 

A  letter  from  Helena  Jacobi  explained  matters. 
"  Your  Caroline  said  to  her  father,  when  he  told  her 
not  to  reply  as  if  his  consent  were  already  given : 
*  If  I  may  not  write  all  that  is  in  my  heart,  I  can- 
not write  at  all;  you  must  write  and  say  why  I 
remain  silent.'  I  pressed  your  dear  Caroline  more 
closely  to  my  heart  than  ever,"  adds  Helena,  "  on 
hearing  this." 

In  a  letter  written  by  Perthes  to  friends  in  Ham- 
burg, to  inform  them  of  his  hopes,  he  says:  ''My 


BETROTHAL  AND  MARRIAGE.  27 

soul  craves  somethmg  that  shall  not  pass  away ;  my 
heart  craves  one  who  shall  be  all  to  me ;  my  spirit 
desires  some  abiding  good,  and  longs  for  union  with 
some  other  being — a  union  which  shall  endure  even 
when  the  world  is  shivered  to  atoms.  Nothing  but 
love  is  greater  and  more  enduring  than  the  world. 
If  I  can  in  any  way  be  preserved,  it  is  only  through 
Caroline ;  in  her  I  find  peace  and  stability,  devo- 
tion and  truth." 

On  the  return  of  Perthes,  at  the  end  of  May, 
Claudius'  formal  consent  was  given.  It  was  to  the 
Princess  Gallitzin  that  Caroline  first  communicated 
her  happiness.  "  To  you,  my  dear  mother  Amelie, 
I  must  myself  tell  the  news  of  my  being  a  bride,^ 
and  a  happy  bride.  This  would  at  one  time  have 
seemed  to  me  impossible,  even  if  you  had  assured 
me  of  it;  but  my  beloved  Perthes  has  reconciled 
me  to  the  step.  I  know  and  feel  its  importance^ 
for  time  and  for  eternity;  but  I  believe  that  I 
have  taken  it  in  accordance  with  the  will  of  God, 
and  now  can  only  close  my  eyes  and  entreat  God's 
blessing;  and  you,  too,  must  pray  for  me,  d«ar 
princess.  I  can  say,  in  all  truth,  that  my  Perthes 
is  a  good  man,  who  does  not  regard  himself  as  com- 
plete, but  who  knows  and  feels  that  he  is  not  per- 

*  The  title  of  bride  is  given  in  Germany  at  betrothal. 


28  CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

feet;  and  I  think,  tlierefore,  that  he  and  I  may 
make  common  cause,  and,  by  God's  help,  make 
progress." 

On  the  15th  of  July,  the  betrothal,  which  in 
Holstein  is  a  church  ceremony,  was  celebrated. 
Shortly  before  the  commencement  of  tbe  service 
the  bride  was  reminded  by  the  pastor,  that  after  it 
had  taken  place  she  was  no  longer  free,  and  could 
be  released  from  her  vows  only  by  the  Consistory. 
"It  is  long  since  I  took  the  step,"  she  replied, 
"  from  which  I  could  be  released  neither  by  you 
nor  by  the  Consistory." 

In  the  quiet  of  Caroline's  maiden  life,  the  bride- 
like love  grew  stronger  and  deeper,  and  put  even 
bar  tranquil  nature  in  commotion.  "  Caroline  would 
fain  act  the  philosophic  bride,"  writes  the  daughter 
of  the  Princess  Gallitzin,  "but  in  vain;  her  love 
perpetually  betrays  itself,  and  I  believe  she  dreams 
of  nothing  but  the  letter  P ;  and  if  for  a  moment 
she  devotes  herself  to  me,  you  well  know  who  it  is 
that  quickly  comes  and  displaces  me." 

"  Your  brother  Hans  slanders  you,"  wrote  Per- 
thes to  Caroline.  "He  says  that  you  can  never 
find  anything  you  are  looking  for.  Even  if  you 
have  this  failing,  it  matters  not,  since  once,  although 
not  seeking,  you  yet  found  him  who  was  seeking 


BETEOTHAL  AND  MARRIAGE.  29 

the  good  angel  of  his  hfe,  and  suffered  yourself  to 
be  found  by  him." 

The  second  of  August  was  the  day  fixed  for  the 
wedding.  On  the  previous  day  Perthes  received 
the  last  letter  from  Caroline  as  his  betrothed 
bride.  "I  have  a  great  desire  for  a  little  black 
cross,"  she  writes,  "  and  do  n't  know  how  better  to 
get  it  than  through  you,  dear  Perthes.  And  why 
not?  I  have  been  to  the  pastor  this  morning. 
The  formula  by  which  we  are  to  be  united,  is 
neither  cold  nor  warm,  neither  old  nor  new — a 
wretched  neither  one  thing  nor  another.  But  it 
will  do  us  no  harm,  dear  Perthes ;  we  will  ask  God 
to  bless  us  after  the  old  fashion,  and  he  will  bless 
us  after  the  old  fashion.  I  am  thine,  and  trust  in 
God  that  I  shall  find  it  to  be  for  my  happiness." 

In  the  first  years  of  their  married  life,  the  diver- 
sity of  their  minds  and  habits  was  to  be  brought 
into  strong  relief. 

"While  Perthes  was  eminently  fitted  for  an  active 
sphere,  by  his  natural  temperament  and  the  strug- 
gles through  which  he  had  passed,  Caroline,  who 
had  lived  a  life  wholly  from  within,  shrank  from  all 
contact  with  the  outer  world,  and  believed  the  great 
duty  of  man  to  consist  in  withdrawing  as  much  as 
possible  from  everything  worldly.     She  could  not, 


30  CHKIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

therefore,  fail  to  be  disturbed  wlien  she  left  her 
quiet  home,  and  experienced  on  all  sides  an  infi- 
nite number  of  new  impressions.  ^'A  thousand 
times,"  she  writes  to  her  husband,  "  has  my  soul 
spoken  out  and  told  me  that  I  am  no  longer  what 
I  was.  Formerly  God  always  held  me  by  the  hand 
and  led  me  in  all  my  ways,  and  I  never  forgot  him ; 
now  I  see  him  afar  off  with  an  outstretched  arm, 
that  I  am  unable  to  grasp.  This  must  not  be  always 
so,  for  the  heart  could  not  endure  such  a  prospect. 
But  I  have  made  up  my  mind  that  it  will  be  so 
upon  earth;  and  may  God  grant  me  the  continu- 
ance of  this  inward  longing,  and  suffer  me  rather 
to  die  of  it,  than  to  be  content  without  it.  There 
are  moments  when  I  take  courage  again,  but  they 
do  not  last,  and  it  is  no  longer  with  me  as  it  was 
once."  In  another  letter  she  says:  "When  you 
are  away,  my  beloved  Perthes,  I  feel  quite  lonely 
and  forsaken.  When  you  are  not  at  my  side  to 
support  me,  I  am  a  picture  of  grief.  Is  it  to  con- 
tinue? Ought  it  to  be  so?  It  was  otherwise 
once." 

Her  affection  for  her  husband,  however,  was 
strong,  and  in  the  depths  of  her  soul  she  felt  her 
new  position  to  be  one  of  happiness  and  blessing. 
On  one  occasion,  a  few  weeks  after  her  marriage, 


BETROTHAL  AND  MARRIAGE.  31 

when  her  father  surprised  her  weeping  in  her  room, 
he  exclaimed,  "Did  I  not  tell  you  that  the  first  flush 
of  happiness  would  not  last  if  you  left  your  father 
and  mother?" 

"  And  if  I  am  to  pass  the  rest  of  my  life  in  weep- 
ing," she  instantly  replied,  "  I  should  rejoice  that  I 
am  to  spend  it  with  my  Perthes." 

But  while  Perthes  did  not  attempt  to  force  his 
own  mode  of  life  upon  Caroline,  he  steadily  pursued 
the  path  that  seemed  marked  out  as  his.  "I  am 
more  than  ever  persuaded,"  he  says,  "  that  my  des- 
tiny is  an  active,  masculine  career — that  I  am  a 
man  born  to  turn  my  own  wheel  with  energy." 

"Can  you  then  indeed  beheve,"  he  wrote  in 
1799,  "  that  my  restless  labors,  my  activity  and  en- 
ergy, can  be  detrimental  to  you — to  you,  Caroline  ? 
You  should  rather  thank  God  that  he  has  enabled 
me  to  take  pleasure  in  things  that  might  have  been 
a  weariness  and  a  burden  to  me.  How  could  I 
otherwise  exist?  Dear  Caroline,  I  am  not  always 
so  good  as  you  think  me ;  but  in  this  respect  I  am 
better.  I  have  asked  myself  what  I  would  do,  if  it 
depended  on  me  to  remove  you  to  a  situation  in 
every  respect  congenial  to  your  tastes ;  whether  to 
a  convent,  or  into  the  hands  of  a  man  who  not  only 
loved  you  as  I  love  you,  but  whose  disposition  and 


32  CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

habits  entirely  coincided  with  your  own.  No,  dear- 
est Caroline,  I  could  not  do  it.  You  must  live  with 
me,  or  not  live  at  all ;  and,  dearest  wife,  I  know  you 
feel  as  I  do." 

'  But  Perthes  did  not  for  a  moment  believe  that 
her  nature  demanded  a  withdrawal  from  the  world. 
On  the  contrary,  he  thought  that  a  character  like 
hers  should  show  itself  as  an  example.  "  BeHeve 
me,"  he  wrote,  "I  understand  you  and  your  present 
feelings  thoroughl5^  While  you  lived  in  your  father's 
house  you  maintained,  it  is  true,  a  constant  walk 
with  God.  You  had  but  one  thought  and  but  one 
path.  But  then  your  walk  with  God  was  the  walk 
of  a  child,  who  knew  sin  and  the  world  and  life  not 
at  all,  or  only  by  name ;  still  there  was  a  unity  in 
your  existence.  Now,  simply  because  you  are  in 
the  world,  this  condition  must  be  disturbed.  I  have 
torn  you  from  that  childlike  life,  and  brought  you 
into  the  bustle  of  the  world ;  you  recognized  in  me 
an  honest  heart,  full  of  love  for  you ;  but  you  have 
also  seen  in  me  and  in  yourself  the  sin  of  mankind. 
For  a  while,  but  it  was  not  long,  your  love  for  me 
concealed  all  this.  Now  you  can  no  longer  walk  so 
confiding  as  formerly  with  the  Unseen,  and  He  no 
longer  speaks  to  you  as  before.  You  are  perplexed, 
and  would  gladly  regain  the  purity  and  simplicity  of 


BETROTHAL  AND  MARRIAGE.  33 

the  child,  and  are  unable  to  bring  order  and  unity 
into  your  thoughts.  My  dear  Caroline,  the  want 
which  you  feel  is  entirely  the  offspring  of  your  own 
imagination.  You  have,  pious  child,  ardent  faith 
in  your  heart,  and  in  your  mind  entire  subjection  to 
the  higher  decrees  of  conscience ;  but  where  others 
would  be  contented  and  at  peace,  you  are  full  of  care 
and  anxiety,  because  you  would  fain  lead  again  the 
undisturbed  and  simple  life  of  childhood,  and  can- 
not. Here  on  earth  man  has  but  a  changing  and 
unsettled  existence ;  he  does  not  all  live  in  any  sin- 
gle minute,  but  only  a  part  of  himseK.  The  only 
things  of  value  are  love  and  truth ;  but  would  you, 
therefore,  disregard  all  besides  ?  Would  you  live 
apart  from  everything?  But  even  if  you  were  to 
withdrav/  to  some  retirement,  where  no  sorrow,  no 
disquiet  could  reach  you,  you  would  become  cold  if 
you  loved  only  the  Highest  and  no  other  object; 
and  coldness  is  always  a  horrible  thing.  Now  we 
are  not  to  drift  away  from  the  world.  God  demands 
not  sacrifice  of  the  natural  ties,  but  the  submission 
of  our  will  to  his.  The  sorrow  and  annoyances 
which  may  be  our  lot  in  the  world  where  he  has 
placed  us,  we  should  bear  with  inward  tranquillity, 
rather  than  seek  to  escape  from  them." 

"  Caroline  does  not  find  life  easy,"  said  Perthes 

Obiist  In  Ger,  ilome.  5 


84  CHRIST  IN  A  GEEMAN  HOME. 

to  a  friend.  "  In  spite  of  her  calm  temper,  and  her 
rich  and  lively  fancy,  she  finds  it  hard  to  have  to  do 
with  the  ever-changing  and  finite  things  of  the  world 
and  time.  And  yet,  when  I  see  her  holding  fast  by 
her  inward  life,  in  spite  of  the  annoyances  which  the 
tumult  and  distractions  of  her  daily  existence  too 
often  cause  her,  and  also  fulfilling  the  outward 
duties  of  her  position  in  a  manner  so  self-denying, 
kind,  and  noble,  she  imparts  strength  to  me,  and 
becomes  truly  my  guiding  angeh" 

"  Tavo  creatures  more  different  than  Caroline  and 
myself  in  culture  and  tendency,  it  would  have  been 
hard  to  find,"  said  Perthes,  later ;  "  and  yet,  in  the 
first  hour  of  our  acquaintance,  CaroHne  recognized 
what  there  was  of  worth  in  me,  and  loved  me ;  and 
in  spite  of  all  that  she  subsequently  discovered  in 
my  character  that  was  opposed  to  her  own  modes 
of  thought  and  life,  her  confidence  has  remained 
unshaken  and  unalterable.  I,  on  my  part,  soon 
perceived  her  love,  and  at  once  apprehended  the 
true  and  noble  nature,  the  lofty  spirit,  the  life-hero- 
ism, the  humility  of  heart,  and  the  pure  piety  which 
now  constitute  the  happiness  and  blessing  of  my 
life." 


THE  BUSINESS  AND  THE   FAMILY. 


I^^HE  commercial  crisis  whicli  occurred  in 
^  the  year  1799,  brought  with  it  anxiety 
and  perplexity  to  Perthes ;  but  again  his 
friends  stood  ready  to  advance  what- 
ever capital  might  be  needed. 
With  the  hope  of  extending  his  business  and 
establishing  in  Hamburg  and  elsewhere  a  medium 
of  literary  intercourse  for  all  European  nations,  he 
associated  with  him  John  Henry  Besser,  who  from 
this  period  may  be  regarded  as  his  truest  and  most 
confidential  friend.  Shortly  after,  by  marriage  with 
Perthes'  sister,  he  became  a  much-loved  brother. 

Besser  was  one  of  those  charming  persons  in 
whose  society  every  one  is  happy.  Prepossessing 
in  appearance,  quick  in  his  sympathies,  and  ever 
ready  to  meet  the  want  of  oihers,  he  was  the  recip- 


36  CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

ient  of  mucli  affection.  Children  lie  attracted  as 
tlie  magnet  attracts  iron,  and  could  scarcely  defend 
himself  from  their  demonstrations.  In  all  circum- 
stances he  acted  with  the  purest  integrity,  and  it 
seemed  to  him  impossible  that  a  man  should  speak 
contrary  to  his  convictions.  During  the  occupation 
of  Hamburg  by  the  French,  he  would  wdth  alarming 
naivet6  tell  the  plainest  truths  to  the  officers  and 
functionaries;  and  yet,  strange  to  say,  he  enjoyed 
their  confidence. 

"It  would  be  hard  to  find  in  any  individual 
bookseller,"  said  Perthes,  at  a  later  period,  "  so 
extensive  a  knowledge  as  Besser  possesses  of  the 
most  celebrated  books  in  all  languages ;  and  there 
is  no  one  who  knows  so  well  as  he  does  where  to 
find  them." 

So  great  was  the  confidence  inspired  by  Perthes, 
that  numerous  families  in  the  northwest  of  Germa- 
ny periodically  employed  him  to  select  the  works 
he  thought  best  suited  to  their  characters  and 
tastes.  It  w^as  impossible  for  him  in  his  relations 
with  men  to  be  actuated  by  any  mercenary  consid- 
erations. "  I  can  forgive  anything  but  selfishness," 
he  once  wTote  ;  "  even  the  narrowest  circumstances 
admit  of  greatness  with  reference  to  mine  and 
thine." 


THE  BUSINESS  AND  THE  FAMILY.     37 

His  family  circle  afforded  a  resting-place  from 
the  anxious  cares  of  business,  and  stimulated  him 
to  greater  energy.  "  You  have  penetrated  into  the ' 
profoundest  recesses  of  my  being,"  he  writes  to  his 
wife.  "There  is  no  moment  of  my  existence  in 
which  you  are  not  with  me,  in  me,  and  before  me ; 
and  all  I  see,  feel,  and  observe,  I  seem  to  see,  feel, 
and  observe  only  for  your  sake. 

"During  my  bachelor  Hfe,  when  one  affection 
used  to  give  place  to  another,  when  I  first  knew 
you,  my  only  aim  was  to  conquer,  to  please.  I 
sought  only  myself — was  always  /.  But  now  in  you 
I  have  lost  myself;  without  you  I  am  nothing,  I 
have  nothing — am  to  myself  nothing." 

"  Dear  child,  dear  CaroHne,"  he  says  in  another 
letter,  "I  am  exactly  like  our  Bishop  Kasper;  I 
would  without  interruption  cry,  'Love,  love  !  nothing 
but  love !'  When  I  rise  in  the  morning  I  ask,  '  Why 
should  I?  My  Caroline  is  not  here.'  When  I  am 
at  work  I  am  thinking  only  of  my  return  to  you ; 
and,  alas!  you  are  not  here,  and  I  have  no  home,  no 
place  of  rest.  If  at  evening  I  have  done  the  day's 
work,  and  would  assume  a  happy  face — ah!  for 
whom? — my  heart  is  not  here." 

On  the  28th  of  May,  1798,  his  daughter  Agnes 
was  bom  ;  on  the  16th  of  January,  1800,  a  son,  Mat- 


38  CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

tliias;  on  the  lOtli  of  January,  1802,  a  daughter, 
Louisa ;  and  on  the  25th  of  February,  1804,  another 
daughter,  Matilda. 

Joys  and  troubles,  which  are  found  in  every  fam- 
ily, become,  wherever  there  are  children,  a  means  of 
education  to  the  parents.  Caroline's  maternal  love 
caused  morbid  self-examinations  to  give  place  to 
healthy  action.  Increasing  household  cares,  the 
influe^nce  of  her  husband,  and  varied  intercourse 
with  men  of  the  most  opposite  character,  further 
tended  to  bring  out  her  capabilities,  and  to  make 
her  move  freely  in  the  world,  so  that,  amid  a  variety 
of  external  circumstances,  she  was  enabled  to  pre- 
serve an  inward  calm  and  self-control.  She  retain- 
ed, indeed,  to  the  end  of  her  days,  a  desire  after  a 
life  of  unruffled  tranquillity — a  longing  which  would 
occasionally  dispose  her  to  melancholy. 

"It  is  still  the  old  story,"  she  writes  to  the 
countess  Sophie  Stolberg  :  "  I  desire  much,  and  can 
do  but  very  little;"  and  again  to  her  husband,  on 
the  day  after  his  departure  on  a  journey:  "Agnes 
sends  you  word,  she  hopes  you  will  cross  the  water 
safely,  and  is  anxious — my  daughter ;  Matthias  only 
desires  to  know  how  his  rocking-horse  is,  and  is 
happy — thy  son."  Notwithstanding  the  continued 
longing  for  a  life  of  outward  repose,  she  had  in  the 


THE  BUSINESS  AND  THE  FAMILY.     39 

first  ten  years  of  marriage  attained  to  a  measure  of 
fi-eedom,  self-command,  and  tranquillity,  which, 
when  subsequently  threatened  with  the  loss  of  prop- 
erty, family,  and  all  external  happiness,  she  main- 
tained with  true  womanly  heroism. 

She  was  now  no  longer  disquieted,  as  she  had 
been  at  first,  by  the  influence  of  her  husband's  po- 
sition and  mode  of  life.  "  I  have  just  looked  out 
into  the  night  and  thought  of  thee,"  she  once  wrote 
to  the  absent  Perthes.  "  It  is  a  glorious  night,  and 
the  stars  are  glittering  above  me,  and  if  in  thy  car- 
riage one  appears  brighter  than  the  rest,  think  that 
it  showers  down  upon  thee  love  and  kindness  from 
me,  and  no  sadness ;  for  I  am  not  unhappy  when 
you  are  absent.  Yet  I  am  certain  this  does  not 
proceed  from  any  diminution  of  affection.  If  I 
could  only  show  how  I  feel  towards  you,  it  would 
give  you  joy ;  after  all  I  may  say  or  write,  it  is  still 
unexpressed,  and  far  short  of  the  living  love  which 
I  carry  in  my  heart.  If  you  could  but  apprehend 
me  without  words,  you  would  understand  me  better." 

"What  you  have  now,"  wrote  Caroline  to  a 
newly-married  friend,  "  is  only  a  foretaste,  and  it 
will  every  day  increase.  At  least,  the  merciful  God 
has  so  ordered  it  for  me  these  six  years,  and  my 
eyes  overflow  as  I  think  of  it." 


40  CHRIST  IN  A  GEEMAN  HOME. 

"  My  beloved  Perthes,"  she  writes  a  year  later, 
on  the  anniversary  of  the  day  on  which  he  had  de- 
clared his  attachment ;  "  this  is  the  thirtieth  of 
April,  and  it  is  just  nine  o'clock.  Do  you  remem- 
ber this  very  moment,  seven  years  ago  to-day  ?  I 
thank  God,  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart,  for  having 
made  you  think  of  me.  I  have  just  come  from 
looking  at  the  children,  who  are  already  in  bed,  and 
while  I  gazed  on  them  I  had  you  in  my  heart ;  thus 
although  you  are  so  far  away  we  are  still  united.  I 
bless  the  happy  moment,  in  which  seven  years  ago 
you  looked  on  me,  and  said  '  I  love  you.'  Yes,  my 
ever-beloved  Perthes,  I  thank  God  and  I  thank 
you,  for  our  happiness.  May  God  continue  to  be 
with  us  and  with  our  children,  and  preserve  us  to  a 
peaceful  and  blessed  end." 

In  a  letter  to  Caroline,  written  after  a  night  of 
travel,  Perthes  says,  "  To-night  as  the  stars  spark- 
led, and  life  with  its  joys  and  sorrows  lay  reposing 
in  slumber  below,  while  I  alone  watched  and  was 
conscious  that  the  good  God  was  also  watching 
over  all  his  children  in  the  scattered  cottages 
around,  I  was  so  overcome  by  my  happiness,  that 
I  burst  into  tears ;  and  it  was  remarkable  that  just 
at  this  moment  the  starlight  fell  upon  a  crucifix 
placed  on  an  eminence  among  some  poplars." 


CHRISTIAN     EXPERIENCE. 

'OR  a  long  time  Perthes  had  enjoyed 
the  friendship  of  Klopstock,  the  cele- 
brated poet.  In  1803,  he  died,  deeply 
lamented  by  the  German  people.  As 
his  body  was  borne  from  the  church  to  the 
grave,  a  chorus  of  young  girls  sang,  "  To  rise  again, 
yes,  to  rise  again !" 

The  Princess  Gallitzin,  till  her  death,  kept  up 
her  correspondence  with  Caroline;  and  notwith- 
standing her  difference  of  creed — for  she  was  a 
Catholic — stood  godmother  to  Perthes'  eldest  son, 
Klopstock  and  Claudius  being  godfathers.  Caro- 
line, on  her  part,  preserved  her  affection  and  rever- 
ence for  the  princess.  In  1806,  on  hearing  of  her 
fatal  illness,  she  wrote,  "  No  one  ever  made  so  deep 

and  lasting  an  impression  on  me  as  she ;  and  from 

6 


42  CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

the  first  moment  of  our  meeting,  she  has  been,  I 
may  say,  my  guide  to  God." 

She  was  indeed  an  extraordinary  womau.  At 
the  age  of  twenty-four  she  withdrew  from  a  con- 
stant round  of  gayeties,  to  give  up  her  time  to  the 
study  of  languages,  mathematics,  Greek  Hterature 
and  Platonic  philosophy.  During  a  severe  illness, 
she  was  alarmed  by  the  discovery  that  she  was  a 
slave  to  literary  ambition.  Upon  her  recovery  she 
earnestly  devoted  herself  to  the  study  of  the  Scrip- 
tures in  the  Latin  version,  and  to  the  religious  in- 
struction of  her  children.  The  truths  of  Christian- 
ity penetrated  her  heart,  and  with  her  dazzling 
talents  was  linked  the  faith  of  a  httle  child.  A  small 
but  highly  gifted  circle  gathered  around  this  re- 
markable woman,  among  whom  were  Goethe,  Her- 
der, and  Lavater. 

In  1806  she  died.  "  The  last  few  hours,"  writes 
Bishop  Karper  to  Perthes,  "were  hours  of  severe 
suffering,  yet  rich  in  mercy.  She  met  her  end  with 
perfect  consciousness,  committing  herself  entirely 
to  God,  and  thus  her  beautiful,  purified,  sanctified 
soul  departed  in  the  most  blessed  and  intimate 
union  with  Christ.  A  beautiful  death,  dear  Perthes ; 
pray  especially  for  her  beloved  daughter  that  God 
may  give  her  grace." 


CHEISTIAN  EXPERIENCE.  43 

"You  believe  as  I  do,"  lie  says  in  another  letter, 
"in  the  necessity  of  illumination  and  grace  from 
above,  and  that  is  everything.  I  am  sure  you  can- 
not rest  on  your  present  stand-point.  The  striving 
and  hastening  after  truth,  which  characterizes  you, 
and  the  need  you  must  feel  of  some  firm  footing, 
cannot  continue;  for,  dear  Perthes,  we  are  not 
searching  for  the  truth;  we  have  it.  This  only  is 
our  task  and  our  duty,  to  show  our  faith  by  a  real 
Christian  walk,  in  all  we  do  or  leave  undone." 

Bat  it  was  only  after  long  and  deep  struggles, 
that  Perthes  received  the  truth,  in  its  simplicity, 
into  his  heart.  For  a  long  time  he  had  tried  to 
make  philosophy  take  the  place  of  religion ;  to  bring 
his  will  into  subjection  to  laws  fixed  by  the  under- 
standing. Then  he  had  hoped  for  guidance  in  the 
feelings  of  his  own  heart,  purified  and  perfected  by 
Art.  He  had  striven  to  elevate  the  physical  into 
harmony  with  the  spiritual,  but  all  in  vain.  He  at 
last  perceived  that  the  love  of  God  was  not  a  spon- 
taneous growth  of  intellectual  culture ;  he  was  con- 
scious of  a  strong  alienation  from  God,  which  it 
seemed  impossible  to  overcome  by  any  human 
means. 

"My  internal  anxiety,"  he  writes  to  Caroline, 
"  calls  for  some  one  who  in  my  stead  gives  satisfac- 


44:         CHEIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

tion ;  and  undefined  feelings  come  across  me,  wliicli 
seek  after  a  God,  lolio,  as  man,  has  felt  the  agony  of 
man.  I  have  leaned  upon  many  a  staff  that  has 
given  way,  and  have  seen  many  a  star  fall  from 
heaven.  What  is  true,  is  given  to  us  in  science,  but 
not  The  Truth." 

A  long  struggle  followed.  Holy  Scripture  now 
appeared  to  his  soul  in  all  its  majesty,  and  Claudi- 
us was  by  his  side  to  aid  and  encourage.  Their 
personal  intercourse  had  been  continually  growing 
more  intimate  and  confidential,  and  Claudius'  tract, 
"A  Father's  Simple  Instructions  about  the  Chris- 
tian Eehgion,"  which  appeared  in  1803,  made  a 
deep  impression  upon  his  son-in-law;  and  he 
reached  a  certainty  of  conviction  and  a  repose  of 
mind  which  he  had  never  before  known.  "  You  ask 
how  it  fares  with  me,"  he  says.  "I  hnoio  what 
truth  is,  I  Imow  what  man  is,  and  what  he  shall  be ; 
I  know  how  to  estimate  the  world ;  I  hiow  that  the 
richer  a  man  becomes,  the  poorer  he  is  in  the  world. 
I  thank  God  for  this  knowledge,  and  especially  for 
the  consciousness  that  I  am  a  poor  sinner,  and  in 
myself  helpless  and  comfortless.  Those  men  are  a 
problem  to  me  who  seek  satisfaction  in  themselves, 
and,  if  unsuccessful,  try  to  find  it  in  one  fruit  after 
another,  in  the  hope  of  being  satisfied  at  last,  and 


CHRISTIAN  EXPEEIENCE.  45 

are  never  awakened  to  the  alarming  consciousness 
that  the  sap  is  not  there.  So  long  as  a  man  does 
not  feel  that  he  is  a  poor  sinner,  and  deficient  in  all 
that  God  requires  of  him,  he  will  never  be  recon- 
ciled to  Him Christianity  is  a  free-gift  investi- 
ture, and  in  Christianity  all  is  given  by  the  grace 
of  God  and  received  by  love." 

It  was  through  anxiety  and  labor  and  after 
many  wanderings,  that  Perthes  had  won  his  way 
to  the  saving  truths  of  Christianity;  but  he  had 
won  them  as  part  and  parcel  of  his  life.  And  when, 
after  many  years,  he  lay  upon  his  death-bed,  they 
filled  his  whole  soul,  and  had  power  to  take  its 
sting  from  death. 


NAPOLEON. 


HE  enthiisiasm  with  which  Perthes,  as 
a  very  young  man,  had  regarded  the 
progress  of  Napoleon,  was  changed 
into  the  bitterest  hostihty  when  war 
was  declared  against  the  German  Empire. 
On  the  20th  of  October,  1805,  the  Austrian  army 
was  surrendered  to  the  French.  The  battle  of  Aus- 
terlitz  was  fought  on  the  2d  of  December,  and  on 
the  2Gth  of  the  same  month  the  luckless  peace  of 
Presburg  was  concluded. 

In  July,  1806,  was  formed  the  Confederation  of 
the  Ehine,  which  destroyed  the  very  form  of  the 
German  Empire.  The  disastrous  battle  of  Jena 
followed,  and  on  the  19th  of  November  the  French 
.took  possession  of  Hamburg. 

Immediately  after,  all  intercourse  with  England 


NAPOLEON.  47 

was  forbidden  on  pain  of  death ;  all  English  prop- 
erty declared  forfeited;  and  all  goods  purchased 
from  English  dealers,  although  paid  for,  were  de- 
manded from  the  owners,  and  trade  was  allowed  to 
be  carried  on  only  under  the  restraint  of  a  system 
of  certificates.  Owing  to  the  general  insolvency 
which  followed  the  issue  of  the  French  regulations, 
Perthes'  personal  losses  involved  all  that  ten  years 
of  toil  and  anxiety  had  realized.  In  Mecklenburg 
alone,  he  reckoned  his  losses  at  twenty  thousand 
marks;  but  his  courage  and  hopefulness  did  not 
desert  him. 

Many  received  these  changes  with  apathy ;  oth- 
ers gave  up  all  as  lost.  But  not  so  Perthes,  who 
beheved  that  much  might  be  done  to  preserve  the 
German  nationality,  and  was  unceasing  in  his  efforts 
to  arouse  a  spirit  of  patriotism.  "  What  are  we  yet 
to  pass  through  ?"  he  writes.  "  What  sufferings, 
what  indignities,  what  degradation  are  still  in  store 
for  Germany,  and  for  the  world?  And  yet  what 
opportunities  Providence  offers  to  men  who  have 
energy !  .  . .  .  I  am  not  dispirited,  and  will  not  be ; 
free  German  hearts  will  not  be  wanting,  and  God 
will  take  care  of  the  rest." 

"Events  have  outgrown  all  political  calculation,'* 
says  Muller  in  reply.     "  All  customary  expedients 


48  CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

fail,  and  there  is  no  appearance  of  help  from  any 
quarter.  God  must  remove  one  man  or  raise  up  a 
greater,  or  bring  about  something  yet  quite  unfore- 
seen. I  no  longer  feel  either  indignation  or  fear; 
the  scene  has  become  too  solemn.  The  Ancient  of 
Days  is  sitting  in  judgment ;  the  books  are  opened, 
and  the  nations  and  their  rulers  are  weighed  in  the 
balance.  "What  v>^ill  be  the  end  ?  A  new  order  of 
things  is  in  preparation,  very  different  from  what  is 
imagined  by  those  who  are  the  blind  instruments  of 
its  establishment.  That  which  now  is,  is  not  abi- 
ding ;  that  which  was,  will  hardly  be  restored ;  and 
the  difference  will  not  consist  in  the  mere  substitu- 
tion of  Corsican  rule  for  that  of  some  weakling  of 
Italy,  Germany,  or  Sclavonia." 

But  as  the  political  horizon  darkened  the  dearer 
became  Perthes'  home.  Plis  four  children  were 
strong  and  healthy,  and  on  the  23d  of  January, 
1806,  another  son,  John,  was  added  to  the  number, 
and  on  the  15th  of  September,  1807,  a  daughter, 
Dorothea.  Sorrow  for  the  first  time  found  its  way 
into  the  family  circle  in  the  death  of  this  infant, 
three  months  later.  "  Dear  mother,"  wrote  Caroline 
immediately  after,  "  God  has  taken  my  angel  gently 
and  calmly  to  himself.  I  thank  our  Heavenly 
Father  that  he  has  heard  my  prayer,  and  taken  my 


NAPOLEON.  49 

darling  child  without  pain.  She  looks  so  peaceful 
that  we  must  be  so  too." 

Perthes  had,  as  we  have  seen,  sustained  heavy 
losses  in  1806;  but  the  excitement  of  the  times, 
which  left  so  many  houses  in  anxious  suspense, 
afforded  to  his  bold  and  active  spirit  opportunities 
of  extending  his  business.  He  could  say  with  truth, 
"  No  one  in  Hamburg  has  anything  to  do,  but  my 
business  is  more  active  than  ever."  His  library  was 
now  regarded  as  the  finest  in  North  Germany ;  and 
Niebuhr  had  sportively  called  him  "  the  king  of  the 
booksellers  from  the  Ems  to  the  Baltic." 

*'  I  am,  indeed,  singularly  happy,"  he  writes  in 
1807,  "  for  one  who  has  so  restless  a  career  allotted 
him.  Much  love,  many  friends,  many  children, 
much  labor,  much  business,  much  to  please,  much 
to  displease  me,  much  anxiety,  and  little  gold; 
moreover,  a  dozen  Spaniards  in  the  house,  and  for 
the  last  nine  days  three  gens  d'armes  to  boot,  who 
drive  me  almost  to  distraction." 

To  shut  himself  up  within  the  happy  and  attrac- 
tive circle  of  his  family  and  his  business,  was  not, 
however,  in  Perthes'  nature,  which  led  him  to  take 
a  lively  interest  in  those  events  commanding  the 
attention  of  the  civilized  world.  Of  Napoleon  he 
writes:  "Napoleon,  the  ruler   of   the  world,  is  a 

Chi  iBt  in  Oer,  Bomr.  1 


50  CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

unity,  and  is  secure  and  firm  in  liimseif,  as  no  other 
is,  because, .  more  than  any  other,  he  seeks  only 
himself;  and,  like  no  other,  he  is  a  devil  incarnate, 
because,  like  no  other,  he  has  made  himself  his 
god." 

To  this  demonlike  man  he  believed  the  world 
given  over  by  God — not  so  to  continue,  but  that, 
through  suffering,  even  of  the  most  dreadful  kind, 
the  paralyzed  energy  of  goodness  might  be  resus- 
citated. "  All  that  was,"  he  says,  "is  ruined.  What 
new  edifice  will  rise  on  the  ruins  I  know-  not ;  but 
the  most  fearful  result  of  all  would  be  the  restoration 
of  the  old  enfeebled  times.  By  a  practical  path  of 
suffering  God  is  leading  us  to  a  new  order  of  things ; 
the  game  cannot  be  played  backward,  therefore  on- 
ward must  be  the  word.  Let  that  which  cannot 
stand,  fall.  Nothing  can  escape  the  crisis,  and  it  is 
some  consolation  to  see  that  events  are  greater  than 
the  circumstances  that  called  them  forth.  He  who 
would  now  turn  the  wheel  backward  cares  only  for 
repose,  comfort,  and  private  happiness.  We  should 
rather  consider  ourselves  to  be  the  growth  of  the 
epoch;  and  who  could  expect  to  compress  the  be- 
ginning and  end  of  such  a  revolution  into  one  life- 
time?" 

Despairing  of  external   help,   Perthes  centred 


NAPOLEON. 


51 


all  his  hopes  for  the  German  people  m  their  unity. 
"Our  first  object  must  be,"  he  writes,  "to  arouse 
the  national  German  feeling,  and  to  keep  it  alive." 
Once  aroused  to  action  he  knew  no  retreat.  "And 
I  thank  God,"  he  says,  "  that  I  have  a  wife  who 
shares  my  feelings,  and  who,  if  it  come  to  the  worst, 
will  not  shake  my  courage.  He  who  has  in  him 
any  element  of  intellect  or  power,  of  greatness  or 
passion,  cannot  but  turn  his  attention  to  what  is 
now  passing  around  him,  in  order,  so  far  as  he  can, 
to  influence  the  direction  of  events.  He  who  has 
only  an  inward  life  in  these  times  has  no  life  at 
aU." 


^m^ 


QA 


VII. 


PATRIOTISM. 

|AMBUKG  had  been  successively  occu- 
pied by  French,  Italian,  Dutch,  Span- 
'^  Ip  ish,  or  German  legions  under  Napole- 
on's generals.  Externally  every  form 
of  independence  was  gone.  More  than  three 
hundred  vessels  were  lying  unrigged  in  the  harbor, 
and  trade  was  incalculably  diminished.  The  peo- 
ple were  given  up  to  the  unprecedented  extortions 
and  shameless  exactions  of  the  French. 

In  1809  Austria  was  again  defeated  by  Napo- 
leon, and  the  peace  of  Vienna  signed. 

Perthes  regarded  it  as  the  right  and  duty  of 
every  German  to  arouse  and  strengthen,  by  every 
possible  means,  the  hatred  and  exasperation  of  the 
Germans  against  the  oppressor.  With  this  aim  in 
view,  he  established,  in  1810,  a  new  scientific  and 


PATRIOTISM.  53 

literary  journal,  called  the  "National  Museum." 
He  hoped  that  through  this  medium  an  unsuspect- 
ed alliance  might  be  formed  of  the  intellectual  lead- 
ers of  Germany.  When  the  right  time  came,  the 
scientific  alliance  was  to  be  transformed  into  a 
political  one.  Jean  Paul,  Fouqu^,"^  Claudius,  and 
other  eminent  men,  cooperated  with  him  and  con- 
tributed to  its  pages.  The  labor  involved  in  editing 
this  paper,  added  to  other  cares  and  duties,  almost 
exceeded  the  limits  of  human  strength. 

Joys  and  sorrows  in  the  family,  too,  added  to  his 
anxieties.  On  the  2d  of  March,  1809,  his  son  Clem- 
ent was  born,  and  on  the  4th  of  April,  1810,  his 
daughter  Eleonora ;  while  his  second  son,  Johannes, 
a  lively  and  promising  boy,  had  been  removed  by 
death  on  the  18th  of  December,  1809.  "  His  heart 
was  overflowing  with  love  and  merriment,"  wrote 
Caroline,  "  so  that  he  was  our  joy  and  delight.  We 
yearn  after  him,  and  cannot  yet  beHeve  that  we 
must  continue  our  pilgrimage  without  him ;  we  have 
but  a  melancholy  pleasure  in  the  blessings  that  God 
has  left  us." 

In  July,  1810,  Perthes  and  Caroline,  with  their 
four  elder  children,  visited  the  loved  Schwartzburg 
home.     "Would  that  I  could  describe  to  you  the 

*  Author  of  Undine. 


64  CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

grandeur,  tlie  beauty,  the  loveliness  of  this  count r}-," 
wrote  Caroline  to  her  mother;  "but  words  can  con- 
vey no  idea  of  it.  I  thank  God  that  we  are  capa- 
ble of  feeling  more  than  we  can  express;  speech  is 
but  a  poor  thing  when  we  are  in  earnest.  The  hills 
and  valleys  of  Thuringia  impress  one  just  in  the 
right  way.  I  love  them,  and  shall  remember  them 
with  affection  while  I  live.  It  is  too  much,  I  some- 
times think,  and  one  has  no  power  to  repress  the 
excitement  which  this  scenery  stirs  in  the  heart.  In 
our  flat  coimtry  we  cannot  attain  to  such  a  height 
of  joy  in  the  Lord  of  this  glorious  nature,  or  to  such 
intense  gratitude  towards  him,  as  is  possible  in  the 
midst  of  scenes  like  these ;  and  I  consider  it  as  a 
gift  that  the  good  God  has  permitted  me  to  see  all 
this  while  yet  on  earth.  The  valley  of  Schwartz- 
burg  surpasses  all  the  rest.  There  is  an  inconceiv- 
able wealth  of  mingled  grandeur  and  beauty  about 
it,  which  rivets  the  spectator  to  the  spot,  and  com- 
pels him  to  stretch  out  his  arms  in  adoration  of  the 
Creator  and  Sustainer  of  all  this  wondrous  work. 
On  the  one  side  are  vast  masses  of  rock,  piled  one 
upon  another ;  on  the  other,  hills  of  surpassing  love- 
liness, adorned  with  meadows,  houses,  men  and  cat- 
tle ;  in  the  midst  of  all  the  Schwarza  rims  clear  and 
sparkling,  rushing  and  roaring  bravely,  far  below  in 


PATRIOTISM.  55 

the  hollow.  Our  reception  was  very  agreeable.  We 
had  left  the  carriage,  and  were  walking  towards 
Schwartzburg ;  suddenly,  from  behind  the  rock,  the 
lieutenant-colonel  made  his  appearance  and  caught 
Perthes  in  his  arms.  My  beloved  Perthes,  thus  dis- 
turbed in  the  tranquil  current  of  his  thoughts,  forgot 
nature,  like  the  rest  of  us,  in  the  pleasure  of  the  reun- 
ion. This  lieutenant-colonel  is  a  fine,  vigorous,  frank, 
and  very  dear  old  man,  and  I  like  him  very  much 
alread}'.  When  we  had  walked  a  few  paces  farther 
wo  came  to  a  broad,  flat  rock,  on  which  a  breakfast, 
brought  in  his  own  game-bag,  was  spread.  He  was 
quite  overjoyed,  and  never  weary  of  recounting  the 
pleasure  ho  had  experienced  long  ago  in  walking 
tours  and  fowling  expeditions  with  Perthes.  A  lit- 
tle farther  on  we  met  the  other  uncle  witli  his  troop 
of  children.  We  packed  the  little  folks  into  the 
carriage,  and  walked  slowly  after  it.  The  very 
depths  of  my  soul  are  stirred  when  I  perceive  the 
gi'eat  and  general  happiness  which  the  return  of  my 
Perthes  has  diffused.  He  is  like  a  child  with  do- 
light,  and  I  thank  God  he  has  let  me  live  to  see  this 
time.  They  live  tlie  past  over,  and  are  all  twenty 
years  younger." 

After  a  stay  of  a  few  weeks,  Perthes  proceeded 
with  his  wife  and  children  to  Gotlia,  the  home  of 


56  CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

Justus  Perthes,  his  uncle.  "  Here,  too,"  wrote 
Carohne,  "we  were  received  with  inexpressible 
kindness,  but  our  dear  Thuringian  hills  are  now 
-only  seen  in  the  distance.  The  children  long  for 
the  freedom  of  the  woods,  and  to  speak  the  truth, 
so  do  I ;  and  it  is  with  difficulty  that  I  can  conceal 
my  feelings.  We  had  quite  forgotten  the  French  in 
our  beloved  woods ;  but  here  we  are  daily  reminded 
of  them.  For  months,  cannon  of  enormous  calibre 
have  been  passing  through  the  town  from  Dantzig 
and  Magdeburg,  on  their  way  to  Paris.  Ah !  here 
we  have  the  world  and  artificial  Hfe,  with  all  their 
annoyances,  continually  suggested  to  us;  there  is 
no  place  like  hills  and  woods  for  forgetting  our- 
selves, and  all  our  wants  and  infirmities." 

Soon  after  their  return  to  Hamburg  the  decision 
of  the  French  Senate  was  announced.  The  Hanse- 
towns,  with  the  whole  northwest  of  Germany,  were 
henceforward  to  be  considered  as  forming  a  part  of 
the  French  empire.  Perthes,  finding  the  impossi- 
bility of  carrying  out  his  original  object,  in  the  form 
which  it  had  up  to  this  time  assumed,  gave  up  the 
National  Museum. 

The  French  yoke  pressed  heavily  upon  Prussia. 
In  Hamburg  it  was  no  less  galHng.  Trade  and 
shipping  were  annihilated.     The  once  proud  and 


PATEIOTISM.  57 

happy  city  now  presented  the  appearance  of  com- 
plete decay.  Harsh  regulations  were  enforced  with 
heartless  brutality,  and  the  inhabitants  of  Hamburg 
had  not  even  the  consolation  of  feehng  themselves 
free  from  annoyance  in  their  own  houses ;  and  when 
towards  the  end  of  the  summer  of  1812,  the  Gazette 
announced  victory  after  victory  of  the  Grand  Ar- 
mee  in  Russia,  all  hope  of  deliverance,  or  even  of 
alleviation,  seemed  to  be  at  an  end,  and  no  man 
dared  to  attach  any  credit  to  the  faint  rumors  of 
misfortune  and  defeat  which  were  subsequently 
whispered. 

In  gloomy  and  desperate  dejection  the  citizens 
were  preparing  to  celebrate  the  Christmas  festival, 
when,  on  the  24:th  of  December,  to  the  surprise  of 
all,  the  publication  of  the  twenty-ninth  bulletin  con- 
firmed, beyond  any  possibility  of  doubt,  the  tidings 
of  the  total  annihilation  of  the  French  host.  A 
wonder  had  been  wrought,  and  a  star  of  hope  had 
appeared,  which  rekindled  life  and  spirit  in  every 
oppressed  heart.  Such  a  Christmas-eve  was  kept 
in  Hamburg  as  had  not  been  known  for  many  a 
long  year. 

The  burning  of  Moscow  awakened  new  hopes  of 

freedom.     On  the  2 2d  of  February,  1813,  Hamburg 

was  thrown  into  great  excitement  on  account  of  a 

8 


58  CHKIST  IN  A  GEPwMAN  HOME. 

false  rumor  of  the  approach  of  the  Kussians.  "  Yes- 
terday morning,"  wrote  Caroline  to  her  father, 
"there  were  Cossacks  at  Perleberg,  seventy-six 
miles  from  this.  Ah !  that  I  had  a  thousand  voices 
to  sing  Benedidus  qui  venit !  The  city  is  all  ahve, 
and  assuredly  some  great  step  is  about  to  be 
taken." 

Two  days  later  the  citizens  rose  simultaneously, 
in  different  parts  of  the  city,  attacked  and  demol- 
ished the  guard-house,  and  proceeding  tumultu- 
ously,  tore  down  the  French  eagles  wherever  they 
found  them,  with  shouts  of  triumph.  The  Mayor 
appeared,  but  was  pelted  back  with  stones,  and  the 
house  of  a  particularly  obnoxious  French  police- 
officer  was  torn  down  by  the  mob.  No  theft  was 
committed ;  the  French  only  w^ere  sought  for. 

"  There  is  no  longer  an  eagle  to  be  seen  in  the 
city,"  wTote  Caroline  to  her  father;  "the  tumult  in 
the  streets  grows  louder,  God  be  praised." 

At  nightfall  the  mob  dispersed,  leaving  the 
French,  though  dispirited  and  full  of  apprehension, 
still  in  possession  of  the  city. 

Soon  after  a  large  number  of  the  citizens  enrolled 
themselves  into  companies,  to  be  ready  for  action 
when  the  right  time  should  come.  The  five  cap- 
tains asseml:)led  at  the  house  of  Perthes,  to  master 


PATRIOTISM.  59 

tlie  manual  exercise  which  they  were  afterwards  to 
teach  the  men.  Some  days  of  restless  excitement 
followed. 

The  French,  however,  aware  of  the  growing 
spirit  of  discontent,  and  the  approach  of  the  Rus- 
sians, considered  their  position  untenable,  and  much 
to  the  delight  of  the  citizens,  evacuated  Hamburg 
on  the  12th  of  March. 

A  siege  was  soon  after  threatened,  but  was 
averted  by  the  arrival  of  Danish  and  Russian 
troops  at  Bergedorf,  a  village  within  a  few  hours' 
march  of  Hamburg.  On  the  evening  of  the  16th, 
a  flying  party  of  thirteen  Cossacks  rode  for  an 
hour  through  the  streets  of  Hamburg.  "As  the 
detachment  approached  the  cit}^"  wrote  Benecke 
to  Perthes,  "the  guard  turned  out,  and  our  cap- 
tain, with  eight  men,  myself  being  one  of  them, 
advanced  towards  the  Russians.  At  a  signal  from 
him,  the  Russian  officer  commanded  a  halt,  and  our 
captain  delivered  the  keys  of  the  city  to  him,  with 
these  words :  '  Here  are  the  keys  of  the  free  Hanse- 
town  of  Hamburg — long  live  Russia  and  Germany ; 
hurrah !'  The  shouts  taken  up  by  thousands  after 
thousands,  rendered  the  German  reply  of  the  Rus- 
sian officer,  who  received  the  keys  with  dignified 
bearing   and  cordial  friendliness,  inaudible.     The 


60      ■    CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

rejoicing  passed  description.  German  !  Eussian  I 
Cossack !  Alexander !  were  the  only  intelligible 
cries,  and  tears  stood  in  many  eyes.  Dear  Perthes, 
it  was  a  moment  to  be  held  in  everlasting  remem- 
brance." 

On  the  morning  of  the  19th  the  Eussians  enter- 
ed the  city.  The  streets  were  filled  with  crowds  of 
happy  citizens,  anxious  to  behold  with  their  own 
eyes  those  wild  horsemen  of  another  world,  who 
had  hitherto  been  known  to  them  only  in  nursery- 
tales.  "My  dear  papa,"  wrote  Caroline,  a  few 
hours  before  their  arrival,  "how  can  I  give  you 
any  idea  of  the  universal  joy  of  old  and  young,, 
rich  and  poor,  bad  and  good  ?  To  have  seen,  and 
heard,  and  felt  it,  is,  indeed,  a  thing  to  be  thankful 
for.  I  will  not  inquire  into  the  causes  of  the  joy, 
but  its  expression  was  unspeakably  grand,  and  it 
appears  to  spring  from  a  good  and  pure  source. 
An  advanced  guard  of  thirteen  Cossacks  entered 
the  city  yesterday  evening,  with  long  flowing  man- 
tles, and  adorned  with  the  spoils  of  the  French — at 
any  rate,  adorned  with  parts  of  the  French  military 
dress.  Every  throat  was  strained  to  welcome  them, 
and  every  heart  thanked  God  in  heaven,  and  the 
Eussians  on  earth.  Never,  dear  papa,  have  I  seen 
such  a  union  of  hearts;  the  feelings  of  thousanJij 


PATRIOTISM.  61 

all  centred  in  one  point.  Aii!  could  we  but  so 
centre  ourselves  in  the  best  point  of  all,  what  a  glo- 
rious church  we  should  form !  The  Cossacks  ad- 
vanced at  a  gallop,  their  lances  lowered,  and  waving 
tlieir  caps,  and  looking  wonderfully  honest  and 
friendly.  People  who  were  yesterday  quite  de- 
sponding, are  to-day  full  of  hope  and  courage.  If 
the  depths  of  the  soul  were  more  frequently  stirred, 
it  could  not  but  be  attended  with  good  results." 

About  noon  the  Cossacks  entered  the  city  amid 
wildest  shouts  of  welcome,  and  all  the  sorrows  of 
the  past  and  the  dangers  of  the  future  seemed 
merged  in  the  happiness  of  the  present.  And  yet, 
scarcely  a  German  mile  off,  lay  the  enemy,  who 
might,  in  the  course  of  a  few  hours,  fill  the  city 
with  blood  and  desolation.  To  him  who  wander- 
ed through  the  streets  in  the  summer  warmth  of 
that  spring  evening,  the  city  presented  a  strange 
spectacle.  Everywhere  profound  stillness  and  the 
calm  of  security  reigned;  there  was  neither  watch 
nor  guard,  not  even  a  policeman  to  be  seen.  The 
moon  shone  brightly  on  the  houses  with  theii*  sleep- 
ing inhabitants,  and  completed  the  picture  of  peace 
and  tranquillity.  The  joy-wearied  city  had  com- 
mitted itself  to  the  sole  keeping  of  the  Almighty. 


VIII 


THE   FRENCH   IN    HAMBURG. 

yHE  Kussian  force  which  had  entered 
Hamburg  was  too  small  to  enable  the 
citizens  to  feel  secure  from  further  at- 
tacks of  the  French.     Great  prepara- 
tions were   therefore    made    to   strengthen 
the   city,  amid  which  Perthes  appeared  as 
the  leading  spirit. 

A  week  after  the  evacuation  of  the  French,  Da- 
voust,  at  the  head  of  six  thousand  men,  advanced 
to  recapture  the  city,  and  without  resistance  made 
himself  master  of  Harburg  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  Elbe.  Xfter  desperate  fighting  the  enemy  ob- 
tained possession  of  two  of  the  islands  near  Ham- 
burg, and  on  the  19th  of  May  the  bombardment 
of  the  city  began. 

"  Dear  Caroline,"  wrote  Perthes  to  his  wife,  who 
had  passed  the  night  at  Wandsbeck,  "I  implore 


THE  FKENCH  IN  HAMBUEG.  63 

you,  from  the  deptlis  of  my  soul,  to  be  calm,  and 
place  yourseK  and  me  in  the  hands  of  God.  Trust 
me,  and  believe  that  whatever  I  do,  I  shall  be  able 
to  answer  before  Grod.  The  bombardment  seems 
more  terrible  than  it  is,  and  even  if  it  should  be 
repeated,  the  damage  will  not  be  so  great  as  one 
would  unagine :  there  is  often  more  danger  hidden 
under  common  things." 

Perthes  now  worked  with  indefatigable  energy  to 
stimulate  the  courage  and  increase  the  steadfast- 
ness of  his  fellow-citizens. 

"From  the  9th  of  May,"  wrote  Caroline  after- 
wards, "Perthes  had  not  undressed  for  one-and- 
twenty  nights,  and  during  that  period  had  never 
lain  down  in  bed.  I  was  in  daily  anxiety  for  his 
life.  He  was  only  occasionally,  and  that,  half  an 
hour  at  a  time,  in  the  house.  The  three  younger 
children  were  at  Waadsbeck,  with  my  mother ;  the 
four  elder  were  with  me,  because  they  could  not 
have  been  removed  without  force.  I  had  no  man  on 
the  premises — all  were  on  guard.  People  were  con- 
stantly coming  in  to  eat  and  drink,  for  none  of  our 
acquaintances  kept  house  in  the  city.  I  had  sacks 
filled  with  straw  in  the  large  parlor;  and  there,  night 
and  day,  lay  burghers,  who  came  in  by  turns  to  snatch 
a  short  repose.    At  the  battle  of  Wilhelmsburg  we 


64  CHKIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

lost  our  Weber  and  many  of  our  friends.  Day  and 
night  I  was  on  the  balcony  to  see  if  Perthes  oi  any 
of  our  relations  were  carried  by  among  the  wound- 
ed. At  the  time  when  the  cannonading  was  loud- 
est, and  the  greatest  terror  and  anxiety  prevailed 
lest  the  French  should  land,  Perthes  sent  the  re- 
quest that  I  would  instantly  send  him  a  certain  small 
box  that  lay  on  his  writing-table.  As  I  was  running 
down  the  stairs  with  the  box  in  my  hand,  I  felt  sure 
that  it  was  filled  with  poison.  I  desired  the  mes- 
senger to  wait,  and  went  to  my  room  to  decide  what 
I  ought  to  do,  for  this  great  matter  was  thus  com- 
mitted to  me.  It  was  a  dreadful  moment.  My 
horror  lest  Perthes  should  fall  alive  into  the  hands 
of  the  French  overcame  me,  and  it  appeared  to  me 
that  God  could  not  be  angry  with  him  for  not  will- 
ing this ;  and  then  the  injustice  of  my  deciding  a 
matter  between  him  and  his  God  seemed  so  great, 
that  with  trembling  hands  and  knees  I  in  God's 
name  gave  the  box  to  the  messenger.  Many  hours 
elapsed  before  I  heard  anything  farther.  It  ivas 
poison,  and  poison  prepared  for  the  purpose  I  had 
feared ;  but  not  for  Perthes,  who  assured  me  before 
God  that  he  should  not  have  thought  its  use  lawful, 
and  was  displeased  with  me  for  having  so  misun- 
derstood him." 


THE  FRENCH  1^   HAMBURG.  65 

Early  in  May,  the  conviction  of  the  desperate 
posture  of  affairs  had  forced  itseK  upon  Perthes. 
"How  should,  how  can  this  end?"  he  WTote.  "  The 
desire  which  we  have  to  do  our  best  is  all  we  can 

rely  upon What  avails  courage,  when  there  is 

not  one  citizen  among  us  who  knows  anything  of 
military  movements,  or  even  the  use  of  arms,  and 
when  no  soldiers  are  sent  to  us  with  whom  we 
might  incorporate  ourselves  ?  If  we  had  but  three 
battalions  of  burghers  who  could  go  through  a  mili- 
tary drill  and  were  good  marksmen ;  if  we  had  but 
a  hundred  young  fellows  who  knew  how  to  manage  a 
cannon,  we  might  be  saved,  but  now  our  preserva- 
tion depends  upon  strangers." 

All  hope  of  foreign  aid,  however,  was  soon  cut 
off,  and  on  the  last  of  May  it  became  known  that 
Tettenborn,  the  Russian  commander,  intended  to 
leave  the  city  to  its  fate. 

On  the  evening  of  the  28th  of  May,  Perthes  sent 
away  his  wife  and  children  to  Wandsbeck.  There 
in  the  Danish  territory  they  were  safe  from  the 
perils  of  war.  In  a  letter  of  some  weeks  later  date, 
Caroline  thus  writes  concerniug  those  sad  days: 
"  You  can  form  no  conception  of  the  anguish  and 
dismay,  the  hopes  and  fears  of  our  last  three  weeks 
in  Hamburg.     Mv  heart  is  full,  and  I  rejoice  to  be 


66  CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

able  to  tell  you  liow  much  more  kindness,  truth  and 
fortitude  we  all  evinced,  than  we  supposed  our- 
selves capable  of.  We  may  speak  of  it  now,  for  ii 
has  been  proved  by  exposure  to  want  and  danger. 
How  heartily  do  I  thank  God  for  this  experience ! 
I  never  knew  how  strong  w^e  are  when  all  concen- 
trate their  energies  on  one  point.  Dear  Emily,  I 
never  felt  such  a  universal  welling  in  one  direction. 
We  were  all  elevated  above  small  troubles  and  dif- 
ficulties, and  desired  only  the  one  thing  needful, 
and  desired  that  wdth  all  our  heart,  each  one  in  his 
own  way,  and  without  any  doubt  of  obtaining  it. 
The  28th  of  May,  the  birthday  of  my  Agnes  was 
the  last  I  spent  in  Hamburg ;  then  I  bid  farewell 
to  my  dear  sitting-room  with  a  sad,  and  3"et  a 
thankful  heart.  I  had  sent  the  beds  and  linen  to 
Wandsbeck  some  days  before,  and  the  rest  of  the 
things  I  had  either  hidden  or  given  away;  the 
larger  pieces  of  furniture  we  wxre  indeed  obliged  to 
leave  behind,  because  Perthes  would  not  discour- 
age the  burghers  by  making  them  aware  of  our 
preparations  for  escape." 

Caroline  had  left  the  city  but  a  few  hours  when 
the  firing  recommenced.  "The  battle,"  wrote 
Perthes,  to  his  wife,  "  which  began  at  two  o'clock, 
sfiil  rages  on  Ochsenvrarden,  and  as  far  as  w-e  can 


THE  FRENCH  IN  HAMBURG.  67 

observe,  tlie  smoke  becomes  more  and  more  dis<"ant. 
"We  hope  the  best,  for  it  has  already  lasted  five 
hours."  And  again  a  little  later,  "We  have  no 
certain  tidings  yet;  the  fight  continues.  Trust  me 
still,  and  believe  that  God  is  in  my  heart  and  be- 
fore my  eyes.  How,  in  my  circumstances,  could  I 
act  otherwise  than  I  do?  How  could  I  have  ap- 
peared before  you  ?  That  I  repress,  as  far  as  pos- 
sible, the  outburst  of  sorrow  and  of  feeling,  is  for 
your  sake;  for  one  hour  of  feeling  does  me  more 
injury  than  ten  nights  of  watching,  and  I  desire  to 
spare  myself  for  you  and  the  children."  After  an 
arduous  struggle  the  French  remained  masters  of 
Ochs(;n warden,  the  island  immediately  opposite  the 
city,  and  there  were  but  few  obstacles  in  the  way  of 
their  triumphant  re-entrance. 

On  the  morning  of  the  30th  of  May,  the  Russian 
force  retreated  from  Hamburg.  A  few  hours  later 
the  Danes  appeared,  and  saved  the  citizens  from 
the  vengeance  of  the  French,  acting  as  a  friendly 
and  mediating  power,  and  formally  putting  them  in 
possession  of  the  city. 

On  hearing  the  sad  news  Perthes  had  set  out  for 
Wandsbeck.  There,  at  two  o  clock  in  the  morning, 
he  told  his  wife  that  all  was  lost,  and  appointed 
Mtitschen,  the  residence  of  his  friend  Moltke,  as 


68  CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

lier  next  place  of  refuge.  To  escape  prison  and  a 
rebel's  death  by  the  hangman's  hand,  Perthes  him- 
self drove  on  through  Rahlstadt  under  cover  of  the 
night. 

To  his  friend  Benecke  he  wrote;  •*!  can  only 
place  my  trust  in  God.  Farewell,  beloved  friend,  I 
shall  hardly  be  able  to  see  you  again.  I  am  going 
into  the  wide  world  with  a  delicate  wife  and  seven 
children,  without  knowing  where  at  the  end  of  a 
week  I  may  find  bread  for  them ;  but  God  will  help 
us." 

It  was  impossible  for  Caroline  to  remain  long  at 
Wandsbeck.  In  a  letter  written  somewhat  later  to 
her  sister  Jacobi,  she  says:  "As  soon  as  Perthes 
had  taken  leave  of  me  in  his  flight,  I  began  to  pack, 
and  then  exhausted  as  I  was,  set  out  with  my  chil- 
dren and  nurse,  in  a  light  open  carriage.  It  was  a 
very  affecting  parting;  my  mother  could  not  con- 
trol her  feehngs,  and  my  father  was  deeply  moved ; 
the  children  wept  aloud ;  I  myself  felt  as  if  turned 
to  stone,  and  could  only  say  continually,  '  Now,  for 
heaven's  sake !'  My  sister  Augusta  went  with  me, 
to  comfort  and  assist  me ;  truly  willing  to  share  my 
labors  and  anxieties.  In  the  morning  we  anived  at 
Mlltschen,  where,  finding  only  two  beds  for  ten  per- 
sons, I  was  obliged  to  divide  our  cloaks  and  bun- 


THE  PEENCH  IN  HAMBURG.  69 

dies  of  linen,  so  that  tlie  children  might  at  least 
have  something  under  their  heajis." 

Yet  on  the  evening  of  this  day,  Caroline  con- 
trived to  \mte  a  few  lines  to  her  parents,  "  I  can 
only  wish  you  good  night,"  she  said,  "  for  I  am  so 
weary  in  mind  and  body,  that  I  can  neither  think 
nor  write.  If  I  had  but  met  Perthes  here  this 
evening,  safe  and  sound,  as  I  had  hoped,  I  believe 
I  should  have  forgotten  all  sorrow.  I  am  still  cold 
and  hard  as  a  stone,  and  shrink  from  the  thought  of 
the  thawing.  I  felt  all  day  as  if  everybody  were 
dead,  and  I  was  left  alone  on  the  earth.  These 
have  been  weeks  of  life  and  death  struggle.  God 
help  every  j^oor  man  who  is  in  trouble  of  mind  or 
body  in  these  eventful  times  !" 

On  the  first  day  of  June  Perthes  arrived.  "And 
now,"  says  Caroline,  "  we  wished  to  pause  and  con- 
sider where  we  should  go,  and  what  we  should  do ; 
but  my  brother  John  came  and  told  us  that  our 
friends  advised  us  to  lose  no  time,  but  to  go  farther 
away,  as  our  house  at  Hamburg  had  been  search- 
ed, and  Mutschen  was  too  near  Lubeck.  Perthes  set 
out  at  once,  and  again  I  began  to  pack  up  and  on 
the  third  I  left  for  Lutzenberg." 

Perthes,  accompanied  by  his  eldest  son  Mat- 
thias, had  reached  Alteuhof,  the  estate  of  Count 


70  CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

Eeventlow.  "I  was  so  unaifectecUy  welcomed  by 
the  Count  and  Countess,"  he  wrote  to  Caroline, 
"  that  it  gave  me  genuine  pleasure.  The  Count  will 
give  up  Aschan  to  us.  It  is,  I  am  told,  a  dreary 
place  ;  but  I  think  it  will  do  very  well." 

A  few  days  later,  the  husband  and  wife  met 
again  at  Eckernforde.  "Here  we  wept  freely  to- 
gether," wrote  Caroline,  "which  in  all  our  trouble 
we  had  never  been  able  to  do  before."  Thence  the 
whole  family  removed  to  Aschan,  a  summer  villa  on 
the  Baltic,  and  made  themselves  as  comfortable  as 
they  could.  "And  there,"  wrote  Caroline,  "  I  for  a 
time  forgot  all  our  troubles  for  joy  that  I  had  got 
my  Perthes,  and  I  can  truly  say  we  were  inexpres- 
sibly happy  in  each  other.  I  thought  neither  of  the 
past  nor  future,  but  thanked  God  incessantly,  and 
rejoiced  that  out  of  all  these  perils  he  had  brought 
my  husband  to  me  safe  and  sound." 

Perthes  had  lost  everything.  His  shop  in  Ham- 
burg was  sealed,  and  his  dwelling-house,  after 
being  plundered  of  every  movable,  was  assigned  to 
a  French  generaL     Keady  money  he  had  none. 

"  Do  not  suppose  I  complain,"  he  wrote  to  his 
uncle ;  "  he  who  has  nothing  to  repent  of  has  noth- 
ing to  complain  of.  I  have  acted  as  in  the  presence 
of  God;   I  have   often   risked   my  life,  and   why 


THE  FEENCH  IN  HAMBUEG.  71 

should  I  be  dispirited  because  I  have  lost  my  for- 
tune ?  God's  will  be  done !  I  do  not  yet  see  how 
I  am  to  provide  bread  for  my  family  in  a  foreign 
land." 

Personal  safety  as  well  as  business  soon  re- 
quired Perthes  to  bid  adieu  to  his  family.  In  a 
letter  of  Caroline's  she  says,  "  When  we  had  spent 
a  few  weeks  together  at  Aschan,  Perthes  said  to 
me  that  matters  were  not  yet  settled,  and  that  ho 
must  be  off,  in  order  to  provide  for  sustenance. 
Then  it  was  the  scales  fell  from  my  eyes.  I  knew, 
without  asking,  what  he  intended  to  do — what,  in- 
deed, he  was  compelled  to  do;  and  once  more  I 
became  exposed  to  all  my  former  sorrows.  Per- 
haps it  would  be  weeks,  perhaps  months,  perhaps 
we  should  be  in  the  world  above,  before  I  saw  him 
again.  I  feared  for  myself;  for  I  believe  that  with 
liim  I  can  bear  all  things,  but  without  him  I  know 
not  what  will  become  of  me.  Ah !  and  my  soul  is 
filled  with  sorrow,  anxiety  and  care  on  his  account. 
You  know  how  earnestly  I  have  desired  more  rest 
and  leisure  for  him,  and  now  that  he  has  lost  all 
he  had  earned  in  seventeen  toilsome  years,  he  must 
take  up  the  yoke  again,  and  he  will  feel  it  to  be 
heavier  than  ever.  Pray  for  me  that  I  may  not 
grow  faint-hearted." 


72 


CHKIST   IN  A  GERMAN   HOME 


On  Thursday,  the  8th  of  July,  under  the  shade 
of  the  gloomy  pine-trees  of  Aschan,  Perthes  took 
leave  of  Caroline.  "It  was  the  painful  parting  of 
my  life,"  he  wrote.  "  I  enter  again  into  the  world, 
into  a  new  and  unknown  world,  full  of  great  possi- 
bihties,  and  also  full  of  perils,  but  I  have  spirit  and 
courage  to  meet  them  cheerfulty.  Kesignation  to 
the  will  of  God,  firm  convictions  and  rich  experi- 
ence, a  heart  full  of  love  and  youthful  feeling, 
truth,  and  rectitude,  such  are  the  treasures  which 
my  forty  years  of  life  have  given  me.  Lord,  my 
God,  I  thank  thee  for  them ;  forgive  a  poor  sinner, 
and  lead  me  not  into  temptation." 


IX, 


EXILE. 


OON  after  came  tidings  from  Hamburg 
that  a  general  pardon  had  been  pro- 
claimed. Ten  men,  however,  were  ex- 
cepted, among  whom  was  Perthes.  "I 
thank  you  from  my  heart,  my  beloved  Per- 
thes," wrote  Caroline,  "that  your  name 
stands  among  the  names  of  the  ten  enemies  of  the 
tyrant.  This  will  bring  us  joy  and  honor  as  long  as 
we  live." 

The  general  pardon  failed  to  protect  the  city 
from  the  atrocities  of  Davoust.  Bad  as  these  ap- 
peared in  July,  they  had  not  reached  their  height. 
"  It  will  do  some  good,"  said  Perthes,  "  for  if  it  had 
not  been  for  this,  the  old-fashioned,  spiritless  peo- 
ple would  have  relapsed  into  their  indolent,  let-alone 
habits.     Still  it  is  terrible,  and  it  cuts  one  to  the 

very  heart  when  one  hears  of  such  horrors." 

10 


74  CHRIST  11^  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

The  autumn  months  were  full  of  important 
events.  Battles  were  fought  remarkable  in  them- 
selves and  in  their  results.      "It  is  a  momentous 

time,"  wrote  Perthes "  Through  such  dark 

seasons  a  man  must  pass ;  they  are  a  part  of  hu- 
man destiny;  and  even  He  who  w^as  without  sin 
was  pleased  to  endure  the  like.  I  could  not  tell 
you  in  a  thousand  pages,  my  Caroline,  all  the 
thoughts  and  feelings  that  pass  through  my  head 
in  the  course  of  the  day.  My  days  are  often  sad 
enough.  Plow  hard  it  is  to  present  truth  in  its 
purity !  It  receives  the  coloring  of  each  individual 
mind,  and  of  each  individual's  weaknesses  and  fol- 
lies. How  weak  and  corrupt  are  men,  even  the 
good.  If  man  were  not  a  poor  sinner,  he  might 
regard  himseK  as  a  god." 

And  in  another  letter :  "  May  God  enable  me  to 
do  what  is  right,  and  keep  me  from  self-exaltation. 
I  will  preserve  my  integrity.  I  will  look  upon  my 
fatherland  with  a  good  conscience,  and  will  return 
to  our  city  with  an  open  countenance  and  head 
erect." 

Perthes  not  only  possessed  the  personal  confi- 
dence of  the  most  eminent  generals,  but  the  young 
men  of  the  Legion  were  devoted  to  him  heart  and 
soul,  and  clung  to  liim  with  childhke  affection  and 


EXILE.  75 

confidence.  They  delighted  in  the  sympathy  of  the 
slender,  delicately-formed  man,  who  never  shrank 
from  the  endurance  of  any  hardship  with  them; 
who  took  part  in  all  their  joys  and  perils,  and  who 
never  spared  earnest  and  friendly  remonstrances  in 
the  hope  of  preserving  them  from  the  reckless 
license  of  a  wild  and  irregular  soldier  life. 

But  this  active  and  stirring  life  was  pervaded  by 
a  deep  and  heartfelt  sorrow,  arising  from  the  posi- 
tion of  his  wife  and  children,  whom  he  had  been 
obliged  to  leave  at  Aschan.  There,  near  the  farm- 
house, and  in  the  middle  of  the  wood,  close  to  the 
sea,  stood  the  summer-house,  which  had  been  the 
refuge  of  Caroline  and  her  family,  consisting  of  a 
sitting-room  and  a  few  small  bedrooms.  The  farmer 
was  the  only  inhabitant  within  a  circle  of  four  miles. 

In  a  letter  written  some  time  afterwards  to  her 
sister,  Caroline  says :  "  We  could  get  nothing  from 
the  farmer,  kind  as  he  was,  but  milk  and  butter; 
Oread,  salt,  soap,  oil,  and  so  forth,  were  not  to  be 
had  within  four  miles,  and  my  sister  Augusta,  with 
the  two  elder  children,  had  to  fetch  them.  For  eigh- 
teen months  we  had  neither  meat  nor  white  bread. 
What  was  called  the  kitchen  was  about  forty  paces 
from  the  house.  Our  cooking  utensils  consisted  of 
four  copper  pots,  a  bowl,  and  a  few  plates.    Fortu- 


76  CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

nately  I  had  brought  our  spoons  with  me,  and  I  pur- 
chased a  few  knives  and  forks ;  everything  else  we 
did  without.  And  yet  we  are  rich  in  comparison 
with  many  others,  for  we  have  a  hundred  thousand 
times  more  than  nothing." 

Carohne's  delicate  health  greatly  increased  her 
anxieties.  The  eldest  of  her  children  was  a  daugh- 
ter of  fifteen,  and  the  youngest,  a  boy,  did  not  run 
alone.  The  eldest  son,  Matthias,  walked  every  morn- 
ing at  seven  o'clock  to  Altenhof,  a  distance  of  three 
miles,  to  receive  instruction  with  the  sons  of  Count 
Eeventlow.  The  education  of  the  rest  was  in  the 
meantime  interrupted.  One  old  and  faithful  ser- 
vant had  remained  with  them,  and  their  means 
would  not  allow  them  to  engage  a  second.  The 
damp  garden-house,  with  its  twelve  windows  down 
to  the  ground,  unprovided  with  shutters,  brought 
ailments  of  all  sorts  upon  the  children  during  the 
moist,  rainy  season ;  and  Caroline  herself  was  often 
laid  upon  a  sick-bed.  There  was  a  friendly  old  far- 
rier at  Eckernforde,  but  no  physician  nearer  than 
twelve  or  fifteen  miles. 

The  deserted  wife,  however,  met  Vydth  sympathy 
and  comfort.  Her  sister  Augusta  was  ready  for  any 
emergency  by  night  or  day;  "and  the  families  of 
Count  Eeventlow  and  Count  Stolberg  vie  with  each 


EXILE.  77 

other,"  writes  Caroline,  "in  their  attention  and  the 
readiness  they  manifest  in  lending  us  assistance  in 
our  need.  No  words  can  describe  their  kindness." 
The  children,  too,  while  adding  to  her  cares, 
ministered  no  less  to  her  strength  and  happiness. 
"They  refreshed  me  in  my  distress,"  she  writes, 
"  each  in  his  own  way  and  out  of  the  simple  and 
genuine  affection  of  their  hearts,  the  little  Bernard 
not  excepted,  who  is  often  at  a  loss  to  find  expres- 
sion for  his  love.  I  am  indeed  convinced  from  ex- 
perience that  God  can  give  us  no  greater  joy  or 
sorrow  than  through  a  loving  and  beloved  child. 
Nothing  else  so  revives  and  sustains  the  heart  and 
shames  us  into  energy.  This  I  have  experienced  a 
thousand  times ;  and  I  scarcely  think  that  I  could 
have  continued  mistrtss  of  myself  if  God  had  not 
given  me  my  angel  Bernard,  and  in  him  a  living 
image  of  childish  love  and  confidence.  When  I 
was  in  deep  affliction  and  anxiety  on  account  of 
Perthes,  and  in  sorrow  for  my  eight  children  enter- 
ing upon  life  deprived  of  a  father's  counsel  and 
affection,  I  was  often  on  the  brink  of  despair.  And 
when  at  such  times  I  folded  my  dear  Bernard  in 
my  arms,  and  looked  into  his  clear  infant  eyes,  and 
saw  that  he  was  neither  troubled  nor  afraid,  but 
calm,  sweet,  and  loving,  I  found  faith  again,  and 


78  CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN   HOME. 

prayed  to  God  that  I  might  become  even  as  mj 
dear  child." 

The  kindness  of  friends  and  the  love  of  children 
might  indeed  uphold  her  against  the  heavy  pressure 
of  external  circumstances ;  but  when  anxiety  for  her 
husband  was  aroused,  she  could  not  be  comforted. 
The  communications  with  Mecklenburg  being  inter- 
rupted, letters  from  Perthes  were  seldom  received, 
while  contradictory  and  exaggerated  reports  were  in 
circulation  as  to  his  position  and  the  dangers  with 
which  he  was  encompassed.  Caroline's  mind  mean- 
while was  full  of  the  saddest  forebodings.  In  a 
future  that  did  not  seem  far  off,  she  pictured  her 
children  fatherless  and  motherless,  helpless  and  for- 
saken. Her  grief  is  revealed  in  letters  evidently 
written  under  the  deepest  melancholy.  "I  have 
need  of  hope,"  she  writes  to  Perthes,  "for  the  pres- 
ent is  mournful,  and  my  condition  and  circumstan- 
ces are  more  serious,  and  my  sense  of  desolation 
greater  than  you,  in  the  midst  of  so  much  activity 
and  hopeful  labor,  can  realize.  If  I  am  to  spend 
my  time  here  alone,  if  I  am  to  remain  here  without 
tidings  of  you,  while  I  know  you  to  be  exposed  to 
constant  danger,  I  cannot  survive.  I  cannot  suffi- 
ciently impress  on  you,  my  Perthes,  the  importance 
of  making  such  arrangements  as  may  prevent  our 


EXILE.  79 

being  separated  during  the  coming  winter.  I  sol- 
emnly assure  you  that  it  is  an  act  of  injustice  to 
leave  me  here  without  the  most  urgent  necessity. . . . 
I  am  surrounded  by  darkness  and  perplexity,  and  I 
see  before  me  a  sad  and  painful  death-bed,  to  which 
I  may  at  any  moment  be  called;  but  I  will  not 
despair.  May  God  protect  and  preserve  you  to  us 
"We  pray  for  you  by  night  and  day." 

And  in  a  letter  written  somewhat  later,  she  says, 
"  If  you  love  me,  take  care  that  in  the  event  of  my 
death  my  children,  especially  my  little  children,  be 
intrusted  to  the  care  of  those  who  will  teach  them 
to  love  God,  without  knowing  they  are  learning  it. 
This  is  the  main  point,  and  to  little  ones  everything 
else  is  comparatively  unimportant.  Their  hearts,  in 
which  so  much  lies  dormant,  are  first  to  be  opened. 
Ah,  my  Perthes,  may  God  help  us  to  awaken  the 
love  of  himself  in  our  children,  whether  we  are  to 
live  together  or  apart  in  this  world.  My  hand 
trembles,  and  I  can  write  no  more." 

At  other  times  her  anxiety  for  the  life  of  her 
husband  overcame  aU  other  fears.  "How  can  I 
persuade  myself  that  you,  my  dear  Perthes,  will  be 
preserved  to  me  ?"  she  writes.  "  God  takes  away 
thousands  of  husbands  as  much  beloved  by  their 
wives  and  children  as  you  are  by  us.     Perthes,  my 


80  CHRIST  IN  A  GEKMAN  HOME. 

dear  Perthes,  to  fulfil  your  slightest  wish  would  be 
my  only  pleasure,  were  }'ou  to  be  taken  from  me, 
and  I  were  to  have  the  misery  of  being  left  in  the 
world  without  you.  Tell  me  then  more  of  your 
views  regarding  the  children,  and  what  I  can  do  to 
please  you." 

The  quiet  energy  and  self-command  with  which 
Caroline,  even  in  her  deepest  affliction,  presided 
over  her  household,  and  the  expressions  of  courage 
and  resignation  which  filled  many  of  her  letters 
written  to  women  who,  like  herself,  were  victims  of 
the  times,  had  given  her  friends  the  conviction,  that 
even  if  the  worst  should  befall  her,  her  peace  of 
mind  would  remain  unshaken.  To  her  husband  she 
indeed  gave  vent  to  her  oppressed  heart ;  but  amid 
her  complaints  she  as  often  gave  utterance  to  the 
language  of  patience.  Thus  she  writes  in  one  of 
her  letters  to  him:  "I  have  the  firm  conviction  that 
my  trust  in  God  v/ill  never  fail ;  but  I  cannot  always 
rejoice  in  the  will  of  God,  and  I  cannot  make  up 
my  mind  to  resign  you  without  tears,  and  without 
the  deepest  anguish.  You  are  too  entirely  my  all 
in  this  world ;  but  believe  me,  I  do  not  murmur ;  I 
only  weep  and  am  yours  for  eternity."  But  it  was 
only  at  long  intervals  that  these  letters  came  into 
the  hands  of  Perthes,  and  his  answers,  sometimes 


EXILE.  81 

lost,  sometimes  carried  from  place  to  place  for 
months  together,  afforded  no  help  to  Caroline  in 
forming  her  plans,  and  little  support  in  her  solitude. 
To  transport  his  wife  and  children  to  Mecklenburg 
into  the  confusion  of  war,  was  impossible,  and  to 
have  visited  them  in  Holstein  would  have  imperilled 
life  or  liberty. 

He  was,  moreover,  fully  persuaded  he  was  in 
the  path  of  duty.  "I  follow  the  voice  of  God,"  he 
says  in  a  letter,  "  and  that  voice  is  now  clearer  and 

more  distinct  than  ever Never,  my  Caroline, 

permit  yourself  to  think  that  my  love  for  you  and 
the  children  is  one  whit  less  warm  or  deep  than 
that  of  those  who  are  anxiously  striving  to  preserve 
their  lives  for  the  sake  of  their  families.  Your  task 
is  indeed  a  hard  one,  but  mine  is  not  light.  Have 
patience,  be  calm  and  self-possessed,  my  beloved 
Caroline ;  trust  to  my  sense  and  prudence,  and 
leave  the  result  to  God.  You  wished  to  know  what 
was  to  become  of  the  children  in  case  of  my  death. 
I  trust  to  your  wisdom,  your  energy,  and  your  affec- 
tion, and  I  pray  to  God  to  give  you  what  you  want, 
and  that  is  tranquillity." 

"  Thank  God,"  he  says  in  another  letter,  "that 
you,  my  darlings  and  my  only  earthly  treasures,  are 
well.     Dear  Carohne,  what  a  vast  wilderness  the 

Christ  111  Oer.  Home.  H 


82  CHEIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

world  becomes  when  man  has  no  home.  That  which 
I  wanted  as  a  youth  I  want  now,  but  in  a  different 
way.  In  my  youth  you  stood  before  me,  the  object 
of  my  love,  hke  some  fairy  enchantment.  I  behold 
you  again  in  my  thoughts ;  but  it  is  in  all  the  real- 
ity of  your  truth  and  worth,  and  I  cannot  reach 
you.  These  times  are  indeed  wonderful  and  inter- 
esting ;  but  it  is  hard  to  be  without  a  home,  and 
the  sad  hours  that  I  spend  apart  from  you  shifting 
foi*  myself  are  too  many.  .  .  .  The  sight  of  little 
children  always  brings  tears  to  my  eyes.  God  will 
help  me :  I  dare  not  leave  what  I  have  undertaken." 
Again  he  writes :  "It  seems  as  if  God  were  bless- 
ing all  my  undertakings.  Indeed,  much  has  been 
achieved,  and  in  more  than  one  instance  harmony 
and  stabihty  have  been  secured  by  my  efforts ;  but 
it  is  not  only  in  its  results,  as  they  affect  the  one 
great  national  object,  that  our  separation  has  beeu 
useful ;  it  has  also  enabled  me  to  assist  many  indi- 
viduals. Large  sums  of  money  are  placed  at  my 
disposal,  and  thus  I  am  able  to  aid  the  distressed, 
not  only  with  sympathy  and  advice,  but  also  sub- 
stantial assistance.  Yes,  my  dear  Caroline,  all  the 
inducements  that  can  move  a  man  to  sacrifice  every 
earthly  possession  in  order  to  work  energetically 
and  activelv,  combine  to  stimulate  me  now — honor. 


EXILE.  83 

gratitude,  affection,  freedom,  love  of  action.  Com- 
fort yourseK  as  I  do,  by  thinking  on  what  has  been 
done." 

In  September,  Caroline  and  her  children  left 
Aschan  for  Kiel,  where  Count  Moltke  had  give  up 
to  them  the  apartments  which  he  usually  occupied 
when  in  the  city.  There  CaroHne  found  medical 
help,  friends,  and  relations,  but  still  suffered  many 
privations  from  the  want  of  money.  Her  own  ill- 
ness and  that  of  her  children  added  to  her  sorrows. 
Her  anxieties  for  the  fate  of  her  children,  in  case 
she  did  not  survive,  was  increased  by  her  total 
ignorance  of  her  husband's  circumstances,  and  even 
his  place  of  residence. 

From  the  7th  of  August  to  the  2d  of  October 
she  was  without  tidings  of  him,  and  knew  not 
whether  he  was  alive  or  dead.  Towards  the  end  of 
October  she  wrote :  "  I  struggle  ever  more  and  more 
to  keep  thought  and  fancy,  heart  and  yearning, 
under  control;  but  6h,  my  beloved,  I  suffer  inex- 
pressibly!" and  then,  after  details  concerning  the 
children,  she  adds,  "I  tell  you  everything,  for  you 
should  know  how  things  actually  stand,  that  you 
may  be  able  to  do  what  is  right  in  the  circumstan- 
ces ;  but  I  do  not  thus  write  to  induce  you  to  draw 
back.    I  take  God  to  witness,  who  is  more  to  me 


84:  CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

than  even  you  are,  that  I  do  not  wish  you  to  do 
anything  but  your  duty." 

These  last  words  were  conveyed  to  Perthes  with 
unusual  rapidity,  and  within  a  few  days  he  was  ena- 
bled to  assure  his  wife  she  had  nothing  to  fear  for 
his  life,  as  he  was  employed  on  a  peaceful  mission. 


¥>- 


X. 

VICISSITUDES   OF  WAR. 

JERTHES  had  been  disappointed  in  liis 
hope  of  finding  letters  from  Carohne  at 
Bremen,  and  was  the  more  anxious,  be- 
cause Holstein  had  become  the  seat  of 
war.  Finding  no  letters  there,  he  hastened 
to  Lubeck,  carrying  with  him  the  guarantees  of  the 
independence  of  the  cities.  Here  he  heard  of  the 
birth  of  a  son,  Andreas,  on  the  10th  of  December. 

On  Christmas  night  he  travelled  to  Kiel,  now  no 
longer  threatened  by  a  hostile  army,  and  arrived 
there  the  next  day  at  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 
"  Unexpectedly  and  in  the  twilight  he  entered  my 
room,  after  a  separation  of  nearly  six  months," 
wrote  Caroline.  "Matthias  saw  him  first.  I  had 
the  happiness  of  restoring  all  the  children  to  him 
safe  and  well,  with  the  addition  of  a  darling,  healthy 


86  CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

infant.  What  this  was  none  can  know  but  one  who 
has  experienced  it." 

In  January  Perthes  again  left  his  family,  to  aid 
in  distributing  money  granted  by  the  prince  to  the 
exiled  Hamburgers.  "  You  will  have  heard  of  the 
misery  of  this  district,"  he  writes,  "but  no  w^ords 
oan  give  any  idea  of  it.  All  the  trouble  that  I  have 
witnessed  and  shared  for  the  last  nine  months  is  as 
nothing  in  comparison.  On  the  last  week  in  De- 
cember, Davoust,  the  French  commander,  after 
plundering  the. bank,  had  set  on  fire  all  the  sur- 
rounding villages,  and  driven  twenty  thousand  peo- 
ple out  of  the  city  destitute  and  homeless;  among 
whom  were  the  old  and  weak,  the  children  from  the 
orphan-house,  and  the  infirm  poor  from  the  alms- 
houses. Even  the  hospital,  in  which  were  eight 
hundred  sick,  was  set  on  fire.  The  helpless  in- 
mates were  removed  through  the  incredible  exer- 
tions of  the  burghers,  but  many  afterwards  died 
from  exposure.  The  intense  excitement  and  cold 
cost  six  hundred  of  the  sick  their  lives." 

For  miles  around  the  snow-covered  country  pre- 
sented the  appearance  of  a  vast  waste  of  ruins. 
Every  night  the  sky  was  illumined  by  the  glow  of 
freshly-kindled  fires.  In  the  streets  of  Altona  and 
neighboring  villages,  haK-frozen  figures  wandered 


VICISSITUDES  OF  WAE.  87 

about  crying  for  food  and  shelter,  while  long  lines 
of  the  sick  and  aged,  of  women  and  children,  might 
be  seen,  under  the  escort  of  a  troop  of  Cossacks,  on 
their  way  to  seek  in  sister-cities  the  assistance  they 
so  much  needed. 

Much  was  done  to  alleviate  the  suffering ;  con- 
tributions poured  in  from  far  and  near,  and  those 
appointed  to  administer  relief  did  what  they  could. 

The  letters  of  this  period  contain  numerous 
references  to  Perthes,  touching  matters  great  and 
small,  far  and  near.  Although  he  held  no  office, 
he  appears,  at  this  time,  the  centre  around  which 
all  business,  bearing  on  the  destiny  of  Hamburg, 
revolved. 

Amid  many  sorrows  and  anxieties  he  wrote  to 
Caroline  in  January :  "  No  word,  no  letter  from  you, 
my  beloved  Caroline — how  is  this  ?  I  am  very  un- 
happy, and  long  to  be  with  you  and  the  children, 
but  dare  not  leave,  for  an  important  decision  may 
depend  on  my  presence.  Never  since  our  depart- 
ure from  Hamburg  have  I  been  so  unhappy  as  I 
now  feel,  and  yet  I  have  no  tidings  from  you. 
Surely  some  great  calamity  has  overtaken  you.  Is 
my  darling  Bernard  still  ahve?  He  was  not  well 
when  I  left." 

This   child,  a   boy  of  uncommon  beauty  and 


88  CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

vivacity,  was  indeed  still  alive  when  his  father 
wrote  these  lines,  but  was  even  then  struggling  with 
death,  and  within  two  days  the  Lord  took  him  to 
himself.  "My  dear  Perthes,"  wrote  Caroline,  im- 
mediately after  the  death  of  the  child,  "what  I 
feared  has  happened;  our  dear  Bernard  is  very  ill. 
I  am  full  of  care  and  anxiety  and  fear  the  worst. 
I  wish  above  all  things,  both  for  your  sake  and  my 
own,  that  you  were  here.  .  .  .  May  God  be  our 
help !  Why  should  I  conceal  it  longer  from  yoil  ? 
Our  angel  is  with  God.  He  died  this  morning  at 
half -past  nine.  He  looks  wonderfully  beautiful, 
and  I  implore  you  to  come  as  soon  as  possible, 
that  you  may  see  his  dear  remains  before  any 
change  takes  place." 

Owing  to  the  irregularity  of  the  posts,  Perthes 
had  neither  received  this  letter  nor  a  former  one, 
acquainting  him  with  the  illness  of  the  child ;  and 
on  the  21st  of  January  he  stepped  cheerfully  into 
Caroline's  room  with  the  question,  "Are  all  well?" 
"  I  had  to  lead  my  poor  Perthes  to  the  corpse  of 
our  beloved  child,"  wrote  Caroline  to  her  sister. 
"  His  grief  was  excessive,  and  my  anxiety  for  him 
carried  me  through  this  painful  day." 

Perthes  had  been  only  a  few  hours  in  Kiel  when 
he  was  to  repair  to  the  Russian  headquarters,  to 


VICISSITUDES  or  WAR.  89 

consult  in  the  name  of  the  crown  prince  as  to  fur- 
ther measures  for  the  relief  of  the  outcast  Hamburg- 
ers, and  for  obtaining  the  Yoluntary  cession  of  the 
city.  "  Called  at  such  a  time,  and  under  such  cir- 
cumstances, you  must  go,"  said  Caroline.  But  Per- 
thes was  physically  unable.  "  Caroline's  heroic 
spirit  was  greater  than  my  bodily  strength,"  he 
wrote.  He  was  unable  to  leave  the  house  for  sev- 
eral days.  "  But  thank  God,  nothing  has  suffered 
by  my  absence,"  he  wrote.  "Be  strong,  my  be- 
loved !  May  God  spare  us  further  trials.  We  are 
quiet  just  now.  I  have  no  more  to  say  to  you  at 
present;  but  we  understand  each  other  for  eternity 
without  words.  May  the  Lord  protect  you  and  my 
dear  children,  and  keep  for  us  those  who  are  now 
at  rest,"  "  My  letter  of  the  7th  of  February,  your 
fortieth  birthday,  my  still  young  and  ever-youthful 
wife,  you  will  have  received  before  this,  and  gladly 
would  I  have  hastened  to  your  arms  and  pressed 
you  to  my  heart.  Be  comforted,  my  dear  Caroline ! 
True  love  is  immortal,  and  by  some  bonds  of  love  I 
feel  sure  that  our  departed  Httle  ones  are  still  uni- 
ted to  us." 

In  order  to  be  as  near  as  possible  to  the  seat  of 
suffering,  Perthes  had  fixed  his  quarters  at  a  mill 

which  the  Kussians  soon  after  converted  into  a 

12 


90  CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

temporary  hospital,  and  lie  had  to  carry  on  his 
work  amid  the  groans  of  the  wounded  and  the 
dying. 

He  was  compelled  to  be  almost  perpetually  in 
motion,  passing  over  ground  covered  with  snow, 
while  suffering  severely  from  a  contusion  on  his 
foot,  caused  by  a  fall  from  a  carriage.  Upon  arri- 
ving in  Kiel,  some  time  after,  it  was  found  that  a. 
bone  of  his  foot  was  broken.  "  I  hope  my  future 
biographer  will  record,"  he  playfully  wrote,  "  that 
I  have  walked  about  for  nearly  a  fortnight,  and 
driven  twenty  miles  in  a  requisition  wagon,  with  a 
broken  bone." 

For  nine  weeks  he  was  now  confined  to  his  bed, 
and  for  the  first  part  of  the  time  was  in  great  dan- 
ger from  a  severe  attack  of  nervous  fever;  but  a 
good  constitution  carried  him  through  all.  "  Here," 
he  wrote  to  Besser,  "  I  have  been  obliged  to  cast 
anchor  at  last.  Such  a  fate  is  hard  to  bear  at  the 
present  moment.  If  a  ball  had  done  it,  one  might 
have  been  better  pleased."  His  spirits,  however, 
never  flagged ;  and  liis  wife  could  write,  "  Mj  dear 
Perthes  is  always  the  same;  and  during  the  whole 
period  of  his  confinement  he  has  never  been  cross 
or  impatient.  I  rejoice  that  he  was  with  us  when 
he  fell  ill,  and  that  I  had  the  happiness  of  nursing 


VICISSITUDES  OF  WAR.  91 

him.  The  children  were  all  well,  fortunately,  and 
we  made  the  best  of  it." 

Hope  for  the  future  now  began  to  dawn.  "  "We 
are  living  in  a  time  of  miracles,"  wrote  a  friend. 
"  What  we  with  sad  hearts  desired  for  our  children, 
but  never  dared  to  expect,  we  ourselves  have  lived 
to  see.  And  what  a  glorious  day  this  beautiful 
dawn  promises !  A  generation  that  has  raised 
itself  so  high  will  never  sink  again." 

On  the  19th  of  April  Perthes  left  Kiel  with  his 
whole  family,  and  on  the  next  day  arrived  at 
Blankenese,  a  fishing  village  a  few  miles  below 
Hamburg,  where  he  proposed  remaining  till  the 
French  evacuated  that  place,  an  event  which  it  was 
evident  must  come  in  the  course  of  a  few  months. 

"  These  six  weeks  in  Blankenese  have  been  the 
sweetest  part  of  my  life,"  wrote  Caroline  to  her 
sister.  "Perthes  with  me,  the  children  well,  and 
the  hope  of  the  deliverance  of  our  city  gaining 
strength  day  by  day.  .  Suddenly  the  white  banners 
waved  once  more  at  Harburg  and  from  St.  Michael's 
tower.  In  all  directions  outcasts  might  be  seen 
streaming  into  the  city.  We  lived  near  the  Elbe, 
and  could  see  all  those  who  were  hastening  l)ack 
from  Bremen  and  Hanover.  One  day  a  carriage 
full  of  little  children,  whose  parents  had  died  in  the 


92  CHEIST  IN  A  GEBMAN  HOME. 

hospital  at  Bremen,  arrived  at  our  door.  Troops  of 
starving  people,  with  many  children,  and  but  little 
luggage,  passed  under  our  windows,  and  it  was 
touching  to  witness  the  love  for  home  and  hearth 
that  was  manifested,  though  for  the  most  part  the 
poor  creatures  could  look  forward  to  nothing  but 
trouble  and  wretchedness.  As  they  came  through 
the  country,  each  silently  broke  a  branch  from  the 
trees  by  the  w^ayside,  and  bore  it  in  his  hand,  and 
old  and  young,  and  even  little  children,  amid  tears 
of  grief  and  shouts  of  joy,  thanked  God  for  their 
deliverance  from  the  great  and  universal  calamity, 
little  thinking  all  the  while  that  each  brought  his 
own  burden  with  him,  and  that  a  heavy  one. 

Early  in  May,  through  the  mediation  of  a  French 
general  despatched  from  Paris,  negotiations  were 
entered  into  for  the  surrender  of  Hamburg  to  one 
of  the  Russian  commanders;  and  on  the  last  day 
of  the  month  General  Benningsen  made  his  en- 
trance with  the  Russians  and  the  Burgher  Guard. 
On  the  morning  of  the  same  day,  Perthes  and  his 
family  left  Blankenese,  and  in  the  midst  of  advan- 
cing troops  returned  through  Altona  to  the  home 
from  which  they  had  been  driven  a  year  before. 


XT, 


THE   RETURN    HOME. 


^NCE  more  were  Perthes  and  his  family 
in  the  home  which  at  one  time  they 
had  hardly  expected  to  see  again. 
Many  an  anxious  thought  was  mingled 
with  their  feehngs  of  gratitude.  "  God  be 
praised  that  he  has  brought  us  thus  far,  that 
he  has  stood  by  us  and  helped  us  through  this  year 
of  heavy  trial,"  wrote  Caroline  to  her  parents  on 
the  day  of  her  return.  "  I  will  be  glad  and  forget 
all,  except  my  dear  Bernard.  "We  have  many  trials 
before  us,  even  under  the  most  favorable  circum- 
stances. God  grant  that  my  Perthes  may  be  spared^ 
to  me  with  strength  and  spirits  for  the  heavy  toil 
now  before  him." 

It  was  indeed  no  light  task  to  take  up  the  old 


94  CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

links  after  so  long  an  interval.  Even  to  render  tlie 
house  habitable  was  a  difficult  undertaking.  The 
pleasant  and  beautiful  apartments  on  the  ground- 
floor  had  for  months  been  used  by  the  French  sol- 
diers as  guard-rooms.  In  the  middle  of  the  largest 
room  was  a  huge  stove.  Trunks  of  trees  had  been 
dragged  in  through  the  windows  to  feed  it.  All  the 
wood-work  that  could  be  pulled  down  had  been 
burned,  and  the  smoke  had  found  an  outlet  through 
the  windows.  The  upper  part  of  the  house  had 
been  occupied  by  General  Loisen ;  but  even  there 
the  soldiers  had  conducted  themselves  so  riotously, 
the  whole  house  was  little  better  than  a  heap  of 
filth.  All  the  furniture  had  been  taken  away ; 
some  of  it  by  kind  friends,  who  had  concealed  it 
where  they  could,  and  the  rest  by  the  French  pre- 
fect. There  was  not  a  single  habitable  room — dirt 
and  rubbish  a  foot  high  covered  the  floors.  Chairs 
and  tables,  beds  and  bedding,  and  the  whole  appa- 
ratus of  the  kitchen  had  to  be  replaced ;  while  the 
want  of  money  and  the  heart-breaking  spectacle  of 
numbers  of  hungry  and  sorrow-stricken  exiles  flock- 
ing into  the  city,  made  the  strictest  economy  a  duty 
no  less  than  a  necessity. 

To  place  the  business,  which  had  been  entirely 
broken  up,  on  its  former  footing,  was  an  undertaking 


THE  EETUPwN  HOME.  95 

of  far  greater  difficulty.  Davoust  had  sealed  up 
Perthes'  warehouse,  and  given  notice  that  all  debts 
due  to  the  firm  were  to  be  paid  to  the  French  au- 
thorities. Many  valuable  maps  and  books  were 
appropriated  by  the  officers;  the  rest  were  to  be 
sold  by  auction.  Besser,  ever  on  the  alert,  main- 
tained that  the  creditors  should  first  be  paid,  and 
succeeded  in  gaining  his  point.  But  before  the  sale 
could  take  place  a  catalogue  must  first  be  prepared. 
This  he  proceeded  to  do  as  slowly  as  possible. 
More  than  once  Davoust  threatened  to  sell  the 
books  by  weight  if  the  catalogue  were  not  forth- 
coming; but  it  did  not  appear,  and  the  property 
remained  unsold. 

The  warehouse,  however,  being  required  by  the 
French,  the  thirty  thousand* volumes  which  it  con- 
tained were  removed  in  wagons  to  another  place, 
and  tumbled  together  without  any  regard  to  order. 
"  You  will  believe,  but  you  can  form  no  idea  of  the 
labor  of  finding  one's  way  through  all  this  confu- 
sion," -svrote  Perthes,  soon  after  his  return.  "  I  was 
invited  by  the  prefect  to  enter  the  city,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  marshal's  resolution  to  release  my 
premises  from  the  embargo  he  had  placed  upon 
them,  and  infbrmed  that  seven  hundred  francs  had 
to  be  paid  for  a  catalogue  which  they  had  prepared. 


96  CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

You  see  that  under  the  white  flag  they  are  still  the 
same  people.  Thus  for  having  hung  me  on  the  gal- 
lows in  effigy,  hunted  me  out  of  house  and  home, 
destroj^ed  my  trade,  stolen  the  half  of  my  books, 
and  burned  my  furniture,  the  scoundrels  ask  seven 
hundred  francs !" 

Perthes,  however,  decidedly  declared  that  as  it 
was  not  at  his  request  that  the  authorities  had  given 
themselves  the  trouble  of  taking  charge  of  his  books 
and  preparing  the  inventory,  he  should  decline  pay- 
ment. Towards  the  end  of  June  he  opened  his 
shop,  and  within  a  few  days  could  write:  "God's 
blessing  is  upon  us.     All  promises  well." 

There  was  still  much  to  be  done  for  the  thou- 
sands who  had  returned  utterly  destitute  of  food, 
clothing,  and  shelter,  and  tools  with  which  to  resume 
work.  The  public  charities  were  turned  to  the  best 
account,  and  admirably  worked.  Contributions 
came  from  London  and  other  European  cities. 
Even  distant  Malta  sent  a  large  sum. 

Perthes,  as  usual,  was  active  in  the  distribution 
of  these  funds,  and  while  thus  engaged  found  many 
were  suffering  from  other  than  mere  bodily  wants. 
"I  have  gathered  much  valuable  experience  among 
the  lower  classes,"  he  writes.  "  Hundreds  of  fami- 
lies would  fain  seek  help  and  comfort  in  God,  but 


THE  KETUEN  HOME.  97 

know  not  the  way  that  leads  to  him The  Bible 

is  known  only  to  few  families ;  I  have  found  it  want- 
ing even  in  schools."  It  was  at  this  time  the  Lon- 
don Bible  Society  began  to  direct  its  efforts  towards 
Germany.  The  preliminary  meetings  were  held  in 
Perthes'  house,  and  his  important  services  in  the 
cause  were  long  gratefully  remembered.  A  few 
days  later,  in  October,  1814,  the  Hamburg- Altona 
Bible  Society  was  founded. 

He  was  also  one  of  a  committee  appointed  for 
the  education  of  the  poor.  "We  got  thirty  thou- 
sand marks  jat  once,"  he  says  to  Fouqud,  "  for  the 
education  of  poor  children,  and  hope  to  get  a  great 
deal  more.  We  twelve  have  gone  minutely  through 
the  town,  and  what  numbers  of  fine  children  we 
have  found !  The  blessing  of  God  is  indeed  upon 
our  ]3eople.  We  have  taken  seven  hundred  of  the 
destitute  children  of  the  city."  The  Hamburg 
schools  for  the  poor,  since  so  widely  extended,  owed 
much  to  this  collection. 

Sooner  than  any  could  have  ventured  to  expect, 
the  hopes  of  Germany  were  realized  by  the  victory 
of  Waterloo.  Caroline  had  been  residing  for  a 
few  weeks  at  Wandsbeck,  and  when  the  first  uncer- 
tain rumors  of  a  great  and  decisive  battle  reached 
her  there,  she  wrote  at  once  in  the  greatest  excite- 

Chrlst  in  Ger.  Home.  3.3 


98-         CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

ment  to  Hamburg:  "Is  it  true,  dear  Perthes?  Oh, 
why  are  you  not  here,  or  I  with  you  ?  Write  to  me 
immediately,  if  it  be  true.  I  cannot  beheve  it,  and 
stand  Kstening  for  voices  in  the  air." 

CaroHne  had  posted  her  children  on  the  path 
leading  from  Hamburg,  in  order  to  have  the  first 
news  of  the  approach  of  the  expected  messenger. 
At  length  a  horseman  was  seen  in  the  distance  ad- 
vancing at  full  gallop,  and  waving  a  white  flag.  It 
was  the  friend  whom  Perthes  had  despatched  with 
the  Gazette  of  the  victory,  and  these  words :  "Be- 
hold the  wonderful  works  of  God !  give  thanks  and 
praise  to  him." 

"  That  is  indeed  a  victory,"  replied  Caroline. 
"  May  God  help  us  still  further,  and  may  it  be  with- 
out fighting  and  conquering,  if  this  is  not  asking  too 
much.  You  write  that  Hanbury  is  shot.  Alas !  for 
the  poor  mother  at  Flottbeck.  But  she  must  bear 
up  ;  she  sees  what  he  has  died  for." 

Events  now  succeeded  each  other  with  wonder- 
ful rapidity.  "  The  first  great  act  of  the  European 
drama  is  ended,"  wrote  Perthes  on  the  twentieth  of 
June.  "  Napoleon  is  dethroned.  You  will  read  the 
rest  in  the  Supplement  to  the  Gazette.  The  French, 
if  they  give  up  their  idol,  set  the  crown  on  their 
own  degradation.     I  expect  it,  and  on  this  account 


THE  BETURN  HOME. 


99 


shall  illuminate,  and  not  because  of  the  fall  of  the 
monster,  who  has  long  ago  appeared  to  me  as  fall- 
en." And  again,  a  few  days  later,  "  In  France  all 
is  confusion,  and  this  kingdom  of  hell  is  going  to 
pieces.     What  a  judgment  from  God !" 

On  June  26,  1815,  he  writes  again  to  CaroHne : 
"  Yesterday  came  the  report  of  the  taking  of  Napo- 
leon, but  it  is  not  yet  confirmed.  Believe  me,  the 
person  of  this  monster  is  not  now  of  the  importance 
that  you  and  half  the  world  imagine.  Look  at  the 
fate  of  the  French!  their  downfall,  their  terrible 
prospects !  The  dispersion  of  the  Jews  is  nothing 
in  comparison." 


XII, 


DEATH   OF    CLAUDIUS. 

I^^HE  anxieties  and  privations  of  the  3-ear 
^^  of  exile  had  told  severely  on  Carohne's 
\ir  health.  Her  freshness  and  vivacity  of 
mind,  however,  never  forsook  her ;  and 
on  this  account  she  felt  only  the  more  keenly 
the  pressure  of  disease  which  had  its  origin  in 
great  excitability  of  the  nervous  system,  and  an  in- 
cipient complaint  of  the  heart.  "  I  have  not  yet  re- 
covered my  strength  and  energy,"  she  writes,  "  and 
I  often  find  my  household  duties  so  heavy  that  I 
almost  despair." 

But  although  occasionally  depressed,  she  was 
neither  indifferent  nor  ungrateful  for  her  many 
blessings.  "  The  old  song  is  every  morning  new,"  she 
once  wrote,  "  that,  if  possible,  I  love  Perthes  still 
better  than  the  day  before.     How  inadequate  seems 


DEATH  OF  CLAUDIUS.  101 

all  tlie  gratitude  I  feel  foj  hia\i2igl}ep9  -penxdit^d  to 
retain  hini."  ^  /  *  ^  >        ' 

She  was  now  called  f.o  a;{ieild;lie^faiifefi^^g  Ue 
approached  that  solemn  moment  when  time  and 
eternity  meet  together.  Claudius  had  suffered  se- 
verely from  the  war.  A^.  the  age  of  seventy-three 
he  had  been  driven  from  house  and  home,  and  was 
often  exposed  to  poverty.  "We  are  pretty  well  off 
here,"  he  wrote  on  one  (  ccasion  to  Caroline;  "we 
have  a  little  room,  with  a  sofa  and  a  bed,  which 
almost  fill  it.  We  cook  groats  and  potatoes  for 
ourselves,  but  fuel  is  extravagantly  dear.  Fritz  is 
at  Wandsbeck  taking  care  of  our  house,  and  has 
sold  the  cow.  He  writes  me  that  the  cellar  is  hke 
the  universe  before  creation,  waste  and  void." 

A  few  weeks  later  he  wrote :  "  We  are  now  hv- 
ing  in  a  larger,  I  might  ^ay  a  large  room,  but  it  is 
very  cold,  and  we  have  u  jt  the  means  of  keeping  it 
warm." 

But  the  trials  of  poverty,  separation  from  home 
and  children,  were  not  t  jose  which  affected  Clau- 
dius most  sensibly.  His  sincere  and  patriotic  heart 
was  broken  by  the  confli^jting  emotions  and  doubts 
for  his  fatherland.  The  violent  excitement  of  the 
times  was  too  much  for  the  simple  mind  and  loving 
heart  of  the  noble  old  man. 


102        CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

Ci^u^ius  had  returiied  to  Wandsbeck  in  May, 
1814,*^  but  never  sCgain'^o  enjoy  his  old  home.  Wea- 
ried  v/Mi  the  -Inirdeij  ;of  years  and  infirmities,  he 
struggled  through  summer  and  autumn,  and  in 
compliance  with  the  earnest  entreaties  of  his 
daughter,  removed  to  Hamburg  in  December,  that 
he  might  be  within  reach  of  medical  advice.  "  Papa 
is  weary  and  languid,"  wrote  CaroHne,  "but  we 
have  reason  to  be  thankful  he  is  free  from  pain. 
He  is  so  calm  and  so  kindly,  I  might  even  say  sat- 
isfied and  contented,  that  I  am  too  happy  to  see 
this,  to  give  utterance  to  the  grief  which  I  already 
feel." 

It  soon  became  evident  that  recovery  was  not 
to  be  expected;  but  life  was  prolonged  to  seven 
w^eeks — to  Claudius  a  season  of  thankfulness  and 
of  almost  uninterrupted  calm  and  love.  The  blue 
sky  above,  the  rising  of  the  sun,  the  sight  of  his 
Rebecca,  of  his  children  and  grandchildren,  were 
all  perpetual  sources  of  enjoyment.  One  night  he 
called  Caroline  to  his  bedside  and  said,  "I  must 
take  something  from  the  night,  for  the  day  is  too 
short  to  thank  you,  my  dear  child." 

Caroline  writing  a  few  days  before  his  death 
says:  "He  is  confident,  peaceful,  and,  except  at 
very  short  intervals,  even  joyful.     Yesterday,  after 


DEATH  OF  CLAUDIUS.  103 

an  hour  of  distress,  he  said,  'Well,  dear  Perthes;, 
this  is  all  just  as  it  should  be,  though  not  pleasant.' 
He  then  spoke  of  the  approaching  struggle,  and  of 
Him  who  is  mighty  to  save,  and  said  he  had  placed 
his  whole  confidence  in  God.  He  is  wonderfully 
kind  towards  us  all,  and  likes  our  mother  to  sit  by 
his  bed.  He  is  also  anxious  that  you  absent  ones 
should  have  daily  tidings  of  him,  and  never  fails  to 
send  you  his  greetings." 

His  mind  continued  active  to  the  last,  and  he 
was  able  to  trace  the  progress  of  his  own  dissolu- 
tion— of  the  great  mystery  of  the  separation  of  soul 
and  body.  "  I  have  all  my  life  reflected  by  antici- 
pation on  these  hours,"  he  said  to  Perthes,  "  and 
now  they  are  come;  but  I  understand  as  little  as 
ever  about  the  manner  of  the  end." 

During  the  last  few  days  he  prayed  incessantly. 
He  never  relinquished  the  hope  that  God  would 
vouchsafe  to  him  a  glimpse  into  the  realms  beyond, 
while  still  on  this  side  of  the  grave ;  but  although 
sight  was  not  granted,  his  faith  was  never  shaken. 

The  21st  of  January  was  the  day  of  his  death. 
About  two  o'clock  he  became  aware  that  his  end 
was  approaching,  and  prayed,  "Lead  me  not  into 
temptation  and  deliver  me  from  evil."  An  hour 
later  he  said  "  Good-night !"  several  times,  and  in 


101        CHKIST  IN  A  GEEMAN  HOME.     ' 

tlie  moment  of  departure  he  opened  his  eyes,  and 
looked  lovingly  upon  his  wife  and  children,  as 
though  they  had  a  right  i  o  the  last  out-goings  of 
affection. 

"His  mind  was  quite  animpaired,  and  he  re- 
tained all  his  originality  and  peculiarities  to  the 
very  last  hour,"  wrote  Perthes.  "  He  died  without 
anxiety.  I  may  say  he  died  rich ;  for  even  in  tem- 
poral things  the  fulness  of  hope  was,  as  usual,  at 
his  command.  The  end  of  this  man  was  indeed 
great  and  noble." 

So  passed  away  Matthi;  s  Claudius,  the  Wands- 
becker  Messenger,  as  he  v  as  familiarly  called  by 
the  German  people,  a  man  so  well-known  and  ten- 
derly loved  that  we  would  linger  a  little  over  his 
memory  ere  we  bid  him  adiou. 

None  could,  indeed,  fail  to  love  this  kindly  old 
*Bian,  who  came  in  contact  with  his  genial  nature,  so 
fresh  and  sympathetic,  so  c  verflowing  with  naivete 
honest  humor  and  wit  which  never  descended  to 
coarseness.  A  man  who  vras  said  to  open  the 
heart  as  with  a  charm  by  his  humble  cordiality 
which  almost  bribed  those  whose  opinion  differed 
from  his  own. 

But  it  was  only  when  viewed  in  contrast  with 
the  gloom  of  Eationalism  by  which  the  nation  was 


DEATH  OF  CLAUDIUS.  105 

shrouded,  that  his  bright  Christian  character  shone 
forth  in  full  relief.  Men  were  seeking  to  exalt  hu- 
man understanding  above  divine  revelation.  It  was 
believed  by  many  that  human  perfection  might  be 
attained  by  seK-culture.  The  intellect,  not  the 
heart,  must  be  disciplined;  and  so  the  Bible  was 
ignored  and  cast  aside  as  old-fashioned  and  out- 
grown. Even  so  late  as  when  Dr.  Tholuck  was  ap- 
pointed professor  in  the  great  University  of  Halle 
wherein  hundreds  of  students  were  preparing  to 
enter  the  ministry,  he  could  find  but  one  who  ever 
read  the  Bible  for  devotional  purposes.  And  his 
own  house  was  attacked,  his  windows  broken  and 
he  himseK  rudely  treated  in  the  streets  because  he 
believed  in  the  Scriptures  as  the  word  of  God. 

Surrounded  on  every  hand  by  skepticism  and 
doubC,  Claudius  was  ever  on  the  side  of  truth  as 
revealed  in  the  word  of  God,  winning  others  to  the 
same  by  his  simple  faith  and  earnest  manhood 
rather  than  by  his  theology. 

Dr.  Hagenbach,  in  his  work  on  German  Eational- 
ism,  writes  thus  of  him:  "Claudius,  like  Luther, 
understood  the  high  art  of  treating  divine  things 
with  an  innocent  pleasantry  because  he  might  be 
said  to  be  on  familiar  terms  with  God.  He  was 
artless  in  the  noblest  sense  of  the  word,  and  in  this 

14: 


106         CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

simplicity  he  could  say  much,  which  if  said  by 
others  would  have  given  offence,  and  which  when 
imitated  might  become  insipid.  Thus  he  did  not 
oppose  those  scoffing  at  Christianity  with  a  frown- 
ing brow,  nor  the  assuming  '  Illuminati'  with  a  pe- 
dantic orthodoxy;  he  rather  opposed  the  sickly 
philosophy  with  his  sound,  solid  mother-wit,  the 
stiff  learning  of  the  schools  with  his  plain,  common 
sense,  and  the  insolent  satire  of  wickedness  with 
the  cheerful  irony  of  his  childlike  innocence." 

r.  H.  Jacobi  says:  "The  Wandsbecker  Mes- 
senger is  a  real  messenger  of  God,  his  Christianity 
is  as  old  as  the  world.  His  faith  is  not  merely  the 
simplest  and  highest  philosophy  to  him,  but  some- 
thing still  higher.  He  appears  in  life  just  as  in  his 
writings ;  sublime  only  in  secret,  full  of  pleasantry 
in  social  intercourse ;  but  he  does  not  fail  to  let  se- 
rious words  drop,  striking,  penetrating  words,  when 
mind  and  heart  tell  him,  now  is  the  time  and  the 
proper  occasion." 

Hamann  said  he  considered  him  a  fool  who  de- 
nied the  existence  of  God,  but  he  deemed  that  man 
a  still  greater  one  who  wanted  to  prove  His  exist- 
ence ;  and  Claudius  likewise  attacked  this  spirit  for 
argument  concerning  the  truths  of  Christianity.  "It 
ir,  incomprehensible,"  he  says,  "  that  men  enter  into 


DEATH  OF  CLAUDIUS.  107 

such  extensive  debates  with  free-thinkers  and 
skeptics,  and  talk  so  much  about  their  free-think- 
ing  and  passion  for  doubts.  Christ  says  very  brief- 
ly:  'If  any  man  will  do  His  will,  he  shall  know  of 
the  doctrine  whether  it  be  of  God,  or  whether  I 
speak  of  myself.'  Whosoever  cannot  or  will  not 
make  this  attempt,  if  he  is  a  reasonable  man,  or  de- 
sires to  be  considered  such,  should  not  say  another 
word  for  or  against  Christianity."  And  again, 
"  The  spirit  of  religion  does  not  dwell  in  the  shell 
of  dogmatics,  has  not  its  abode  in  the  children  of 
unbelief,  and  can  as  Httle  be  gained  by  wanton 
bounds  of  reason  as  by  stiff  orthodoxy  and  monk- 
hood. ...  It  is  an  honor  to  a  people  to  be  strict 
and  zealous  in  their  religion ;  but  it  is  certainly  not 
more  than  reasonable  to  investigate  before  being 
thus  zealous." 

"  To  improve  religion  by  means  of  reason,"  thus 
he  lets  Asmus  address  his  cousin  Andres,  "  appears 
to  me  like  attempting  to  set  the  sun  by  my  old 
wooden  clock.  Still,  philosophy  appears  to  me  a 
very  good  thing,  and  I  think  much  that  is  charged 
against  the  orthodox  is  true."  He  compares  pliilos- 
ophy  to  the  broom  which  sweeps  the  dirt  out  of  the 
temple.  To  this  cousin  Andres  replies:  "Philos- 
ophy is  certainly  good,  and  they  are  wrong  who 


108        CHRIST  IN  A  GEKMAN  HOME. 

scoff  at  it ;  but  revelation  does  not  bear  to  philos- 
ophy the  relation  of  much  to  httle,  but  that  of 
heaven  and  earth,  above  and  below.  Philosophy 
may,  in  a  certain  sense,  be  such  a  broom  to  sweep 
the  cobwebs  from  the  temple ;  we  might  call  it  a 
brush  to  sweep  the  dust  from  the  statues  of  the 
saints;  but  when  one  attempts  to  carve  on  the 
statues  with  it  he  requires  more  than  he  can  per- 
form, and  it  is  highly  absurd  and  provoking  to  see 
this  attempted." 

Never  did  human  reason  reach  higher  limits 
than  in  this  age,  in  Germany.  A  more  brilhant 
succession  of  philosophers  and  poets  the  world 
never  saw.  But  Claudius  lived  long  enough  to 
realize  how  miserably  they  failed  to  reach  the  hu- 
man perfectibility  after  which  they  strove;  that 
blank  uncertainty,  hopelessness,  and  doubt  were  all 
that  they  attained.  God  grant  that  our  nation  may 
not  pass  through  a  similar  experience. 

At  another  time  he  says :  "  Who  will  not  believe 
in  Christ  must  see  if  he  can  dispense  with  him. 
You  and  I  cannot.  We  want  some  one  while  we 
live  who  will  lift  up  and  elevate  us,  and  will  lay  his 
hand  under  our  head  when  we  die.  Christ  is 
abundantly  able  and  williag  to  do  all  this." 

"  Christ  is  a  holy,  superhuman  being,  a  star  in 


DEATH  OE  CLAUDIUS.  109 

the  uight  to  tlie  poor  pilgrim,  one  that  satisfies  all 
our  secret  wants  and  longings."  "  One  might  suffer 
himself  to  be  stigmatized  and  broken  on  the  wheel 
even  for  the  mere  idea,  and  whoever  can  langh  and 
mock  must  be  insane.  Whoever  has  his  heart  in 
the  right  place  lies  in  the  dust,  rejoices  and  wor- 
ships." 

We  find  in  the  heart  of  Claudius  a  simple  out- 
going of  love  and  reverence  toward  Christ  which  no 
human  life  had  ever  called  out.  Wliile  he  believes 
all  true  philoso23hers  and  men  of  God  to  have  been 
connected  with  Christ  since  the  foundation  of  the 
world,  it  was  only  as  the  rivers  to  the  ocean.  Even 
John,  the  Baptist,  the  m.ost  nearly  related  to  Him, 
only  prepared  the  way.  And  so  he  always  feels 
like  kneeling  when  he  reads  of  Christ  in  any  of  the 
Gospels.  "  No  one,"  he  writes,  "  can  say  with  a 
shadow  of  truth  that  I  am  a  philosopher ;  but  I  never 
go  through  a  forest  without  wondering  who  makes 
the  trees  grow,  and  then  quietly  from  afar  I  have  a 
kind  of  consciousness  of  an  Unknown  One,  and  I 
would  then  be  willing  to  aiBfirm  that  I  think  of  God. 
I  tremble  so  reverently,  so  joyfully  at  the  thought." 
"  I  was  on  a  journey  last  night,"  he  writes  in  his 
journal  on  the  morning  of  Good  Friday.  "  The 
moon  shone  somewhat  coldly  upon  me;  she  was, 


110         CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN   HOME. 

however,  bright  and  beautiful,  so  that  I  rejoiced 
greatly  to  behold  her,  and  could  not  see  her 
enough.  Eighteen  hundred  years  ago,  I  thought  to 
myseK,  you  certainly  did  not  shine  thus,  for  it 
would  have  been  impossible  for  men  to  have  injured 
a  righteous,  innocent  man  in  the  face  of  so  friendl}^, 
so  mild  a  moon." 

Claudius  was  one  of  the  first  of  the  people's 
writers  in  Germany.  He  was  well-known  through 
a  paper  edited  by  himself  called  the  "Wands- 
becker  Bote,"  (Wandsbeck  Messenger,)  from  which 
he  derived  his  name ;  also  in  the  Asmus  or  collected 
works  of  the  "  Wandsbecker  Bote." 

Included  in  these  works  are  many  poems,  which 
acquired  not  a  httle  celebrity.  We  give  a  transla- 
tion of  one  the  most  popular.     It  is  entitled, 

THE  EVENING  SONG. 
The  golden  stars  are  shining, 
The  silver  moon  is  climbing 

The  heavens  bright  and  clear. 
The  black  still  woods  are  sleeping, 
The  pale  white  mists  are  wreathing 

The  meadows  cold  and  sere. 

Fast  o'er  the  world  that  sleepeth, 
The  mantling  twilight  creepeth, 

With  gentle,  fond  caress. 
Past  is  the  day's  dark  sorrow, 
To  glad  hopes  of  the  morrow, 

Of  light  and  strength  afresh. 


DEATH  OF  CLAUDIUS.  Ill 

The  cold  gray  mists  are  thickening, 
Onward  our  steps  are  quickening, 

Through  the  dark  night  and  cold. 
No  kindly  voice  is  guiding; 
Like  sheep  from  shepherd  hiding, 

So  strayed  we  from  the  fold. 

A  Shepherd's  voice  hath  sought  us, 
His  kindly  love  hath  brought  us 

From  the  deep  forest's  shade. 
0  Father,  ever  guide  us. 
And  then  whate'er  betide  us. 

We  will  not  be  afraid. 

And  though  the  way  be  dreary, 
And  oft  our  feet  are  weary, 

O  Father,  hold  us  fast ! 
Through  storms  and  darkness  climbing. 
Lead  to  the  daylight's  shining. 

Oh,  lead  us  home  at  last. 

"May  God  forgive  us,"  says  one,  "for  feeling 
that  such  a  man  could  have  been  better  spared  in 
heaven  than  upon  earth."  "  Death  is  a  hard  step," 
wrote  Caroline,  "  but  to  take  the  step  as  he  did,  is 
inconceivably  great." 

The  solemn  experiences  of  these  weeks,  during 
the  whole  of  which  her  husband  had  been  at  her 
side,  took  deep  hold  of  Caroline's  mind ;  and  with 
her  lively  fancy  and  a  heart  ever  seeking  sympathy, 
she  felt  it  to  be  a  heav}^  trial,  that  Perthes,  laden 
with  cares,    business  and    interests  of    all  kinds, 


112        CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

could  devote  so  little  time  to  her  and  tlie  cliildron. 
"  My  liope  becomes  every  day  less  that  Perthes  will 
be  able  to  make  any  such  arrangement  of  his  time, 
as  will  leave  a  few  quiet  hours  for  me  and  the  chil- 
dren. There  is  nothing  that  I  can  do  but  to  love 
him,  and  bear  him  ever  in  my  heart,  till  it  shall 
please  God  to  bring  us  together  in  some  region 
where  we  shall  no  longer  need  house  or  housekeep- 
ing, and  where  there  are  neither  books,  nor  bills  to 
be  paid.  Perthes  feels  it  a  heavy  trial,  but  he 
keeps  up  his  spirits,  and  for  this  I  thank  Ood." 

After  eighteen  years  of  trial  and  vicissitude,  her 
affection  for  her  husband  had  retained  all  its  youth- 
ful freshness.  Life  and  love  had  not  become  merely 
habitual,  they  remained  fresh  and  spontaneous  as 
in  the  bride.  She  always  gave  vent  to  her  feelings 
unrestrainedly,  and  felt  deeply  when  Perthes,  as  a 
husband,  addressed  her  otherwise  than  he  had 
done  as  a  bridegroom.  Now  that  he  was  detained 
for  some  weeks  in  Leipzig,  she  writes  him  half  in 
jest,  half  in  earnest : 

"  You  have  indeed  renounced  all  sensibility  for 
this  year,  because  of  your  many  occupations,  but,  I, 
for  my  part,  when  I  write  to  you  cannot  do  so  with- 
out feeling ;  for  the  thought  of  you  excites  all  the 
emotions  of  which  my  heart  is  capable.     Not  a  line 


DEATH  OF  CLAUDIUS.  113 

have  I  received.  Tell  me,  is  it  not  ratlier  bard  that 
you  never  wrote  from  Brunswick?  At  least  I 
thought  so,  and  felt  very  much  that  your  compan- 
ion, G ,  should  have  written  to  his  newly-married 

wife,  and  }ou  not  to  me.  It  is  the  first  time  you 
have  ever  gone  on  a  journey  without  writing  to  me 
from  }Our  first  resting-place.  I  have  been  reading 
over  your  earlier  letters  to  find  satisfaction  to  my- 
self, in  some  measure  at  least,  but  it  has  been  a 
mixed  pleasure.  Last  year,  at  Blankenese,  you 
promised  me  many  hours  of  mutual  companionship, 
I  have  not  yet  had  them ;  and  you  owe  many  such 
to  me,  yes,  you  do  indeed." 

Perthes  answered,  "  You  write  telling  me  that  I 
have  renounced  all  sensibility  for  this  year.  This  is 
not  true,  m.y  dearest  heart,  it  is  quite  otherwise.  I 
think  that  after  so  many  years  of  mutual  inter- 
change of  thought  and  feeling,  and  when  people 
understand  each  other  thoroughly,  there  is  an  end 
of  all  those  little  tendernesses  of  expression  which 
represent  a  relationship  that  is  still  piquant  because 
new.  Be  content  with  me,  dear  child,  we  under- 
stand each  other.  I  did  not  write  from  Brunswick, 
because  we  passed  through  quickly.  Moreover,  it 
is  not  fair  to  compare  me  with  my  companion,  the 
bridegroom.     Youth  has  its  features,  and  so  has 

C!)i!st  in  C.^r.  Tli.ine.  15 


114        CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

middle  age.  It  would  be  absurd,  indeed,  v/ere  I 
to  be  looking  by  moonlight  under  the  trees  and 
among  the  clouds  for  young  maidens,  as  I  did 
twenty  years  ago,  or  were  to  imagine  young  ladies 
to  be  angels.  Nor  would  it  become  you  any  better 
if  you  were  dancing  a  gallopade,  or  clambering  up 
trees  in  fits  of  love  enthusiasm.  "We  should  not 
find  fault  with  our  having  grown  older;  only  be 
satisfied,  give  God  the  praise,  and  exercise  patience 
and  forbearance  with  me." 

"  I  wish  you  were  here  on  this  your  birthday," 
answered  Caroline  on  the  21st  day  of  April,  "  and 
had  half  an  hour  to  spare  to  celebrate  it  with  me 
and  the  children.  The  children  do  their  best,  but 
you  are  always  best,  and  have  ever  the  first  place 
in  my  heart.  Thank  God,  my  Perthes,  neither  time 
nor  circumstances  can  ever  affect  my  love  to  you.  It 
is,  indeed,  beyond  the  reach  of  change.  May  God  be 
pleased  only  to  spare  my  life,  and  restore  my  health 
and  preserve  you  and  the  children,  and  maintain 
your  love  for  me  unimpaired.  It  is  aU  I  ask ;  but 
there  is  no  end  of  wishing  and  praying,  and  happily, 
none  too,  of  granting — if  not  in  our  own  way,  at 
least  in  God's.  Tour  last  letter  is,  indeed,  a  strange 
one.  I  must  again  say  that  my  affection  knows 
neither  youth  nor  age,  and  is  etr^rnal.     I  can  detect 


DEATH  OF  CLAUDIUS.  115 

no  change,  except  that  I  hnoiv  what  formerly  I  only 
hoped  and  believed.  I  never  took  you  for  an  angel, 
nor  do  I  now  take  you  for  the  reverse ;  neither  did 
I  ever  beguile  you  by  assuming  an  angel's  form  or 
angelic  manners.  I  never  danced  the  gallopade  or 
climbed  trees,  and  am  now  exactly  what  I  was  then, 
only  rather  older ;  and  you  must  take  me  as  I  am, 
my  Perthes — in  one  word,  love  me,  and  tell  me  so 
sometimes,  and  that  is  all  I  want." 

"  Your  answer,"  says  Perthes,  in  his  next  letter, 
"  was  just  what  it  should  be,  only  do  n't  forget  that 
my  inward  love  for  you  is  as  eternal  as  yours  is  for 
me ;  but  I  have  so  many  things  to  think  of.  How 
much  of  us  belongs  to  earth  and  to  man?  how 
much  to  heaven  ?  for  we  belong  to  both." 

In  the  middle  of  May  Perthes  returned  to  Ham- 
burg and  soon  became  aware  that  his  wife's  health 
required  serious  attention.  The  physician  had  told 
Caroline  that  her  nervous  system  was  over-wrought, 
and  that  by  stimulating  her  bodily  powers  to  exer- 
tions beyond  their  strength,  she  was  gradually  pre- 
paring the  way  for  disease.  A  change  of  scene  was 
desirable,  and  Caroline,  with  her  younger  children, 
went  to  pass  the  summer  of  1815  at  Wandsbeck 
with  her  mother. 

During  this   period,  almost    daily  letters  were 


116  CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

exchanged  between  her  and  her  husband.  While 
those  of  Perthes  were  devoted  to  warnings  and  en- 
treaties to  take  care  of  her  health,  the  few  lines  in 
which  Caroline  was  wont  to  reply,  were  full  of  ex- 
pressions of  love,  and  sorrow  on  account  of  their 
necessary  separation. 

"  I  am  seated  in  the  garden,"  she  writes,  "  and  all 
my  merry  little  birds  are  around  me.  I  let  the  sun 
shine  upon  me,  and  make  me  well  if  he  can.  God 
grant  it — if  it  only  be  so  far  as  to  enable  me  to  dis- 
charge my  duties  to  my  family ;  for  I  feel  myself 
too  unhappy  as  a  mere  cipher."  And  again,  "I 
hope,  my  dear  Perthes,  that  you  will  again  have 
pleasure  in  me ;  the  waters  seem  really  to  do  me 
good.  Come  to-morrow,  only  not  too  late.  My 
very  soul  longs  for  you."  "  You  shall  be  thanked 
for  the  delightful  hours  that  I  enjoyed  with  you 
yesterday,"  she  wrote  after  a  short  visit  to  Ham- 
burg, "  and  for  the  sight  of  your  dear,  kind  face,  as 
I  got  out  of  the  carriage." 

"  I  only  live  when  you  are  here  with  me,"  she 
WTites  a  few  days  later;  "send  Matthias  to  me  if  it 
does  not  interfere  with  his  lessons;  if  I  cannot  have 
the  father,  I  must  put  up  with  the  son."  "  The 
children  enjoy  their  freedom,  and  are  my  joy  and 
delight;  alas  for  those  who  have  none!"  she  says 


DEATH  OF  CLAUDIUS.  117 

after  telling  some  childish  adventures.  "  But  you, 
dear  old  father !  you,  too,  are  my  joy  and  delight. 
Let  me  have  a  little  letter;  I  cannot  help  longing 
for  one,  and  will  read  it,  when  I  get  it,  ten  times 
over.  Pray  don't  forget  the  poor  people  in  the 
mud-huts  at  Hamm ;  the  house  is  easily  found,  in 
the  lane,  opposite  to  something  particular,  but  I 
cannot  remember  exactly  what." 

"With  many  fluctuations  of  health,  Caroline  had 
passed  the  time  at  Wandsbeck.  August  had  now 
come,  and  brought  vividly  to  mind  the  many  years 
of  happiness  she  had  spent  with  her  husband. 

"It  is  eighteen  years  to-day,"  she  writes,  "since 
I  wrote  you  the  last  letter  before  our  marriage,  and 
sent  you  my  first  request  about  the  little  black 
cross.  I  have  asked  for  many  things  in  the  eigh- 
teen years  that  have  passed  since  then,  dear  Per- 
thes, and  what  shall  I  ask  to-day?  You  can  tell, 
for  you  know  me  well,  and  know  that  I  have  never 
said  an  untrue  word  to  you.  Only  you  cannot 
quite  know  my  indescribable  affection,  for  it  is  in- 
finite. Perthes,  my  heart  is  full  of  joy  and  sadness; 
would  that  you  were  here !  This  day,  eighteen 
years  ago,  I  did  not  long  for  you  more  fervently  or 
more  ardently  than  now.  Thank  God  over  and 
over  for  everything!      I  am  yours  in   time,  and 


118        CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

thougli  I  know  not  how,  in  eternity  too !  Be  weU 
pleased  if  you  come  to-morrow.  Affection  is  cer- 
tainly the  greatest  wonder  in  heaven,  or  on  earth, 
and  the  only  thing  I  can  represent  to  myself  as  un- 
satiable  throughout  eternity." 

In  the  middle  of  August  Caroline  returned  home ; 
and  although  not  fully  restored  to  health,  she  was 
yet  able  to  superintend  her  household,  and  to  min- 
ister comfort  and  joy,  support  and  assistance  to 
many  others. 


^[H^^--l^ 


XIII. 


CORRESPONDENCE. 

l^HE  book  trade  which  Perthes  had  re- 
sumed at  the  close  of  the  war  contin- 
\]^  ued  to  prosper.     Hoping  to  add  to  its 
importance,  he  left  home  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1816,  with  his  son  Matthias,  then 
sixteen  years  of  age,  for  a  journey  to  Vienna, 
by  way  of  Cologne,  Frankfort,  and  Munich. 

Perthes'  biography  contains  many  interesting 
letters  written  at  this  time,  a  few  of  which  we  quote. 
At  Diisseldorf,  by  the  light  of  a  fine  sunset  ho 
first  saw  the  E-hine.  "  The  glorious  river  made  a 
grand  impression,"  he  says.  "It  is  true,  like  the 
Elbe  at  Hamburg,  it  flows  through  a  level  country. 
I  should  not  say  flows,  but  streams  impetuously, 
for  there  is  a  vast  difference;  yet  the  Ehine  can 
never  form  so  b^aiilifiil  a  mirror  as  the  Elbe  occa- 


120        CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

sionally  does.  We  have  now,  my  beloved  Caroline, 
the  Elbe,  the  Wesser,  the  Ems,  and  soon  we  shall 
have  the  Ehine,  too,  between  us;  but  love  and 
devotion  recognize  no  boundaries.  Be  confident. 
Your  glances  into  the  past,  and  fearful  and  hopeful 
longings,  are  indeed  guarantees  for  the  great  future 
beyond  the  grave ;  yet  do  not  forget  that  a  vigor- 
ous grasp  of  the  present  is  our  duty  so  long  as  Ave 
are  upon  earth.  It  is  the  present  moment  that 
supplies  the  energy  and  decision  which  fit  us  for 
life.  Retrospect  brings  sadness,  and  the  dark  future 
excites  fears ;  so  that  we  should  be  crippled  in  our 
exertions  were  vre  not  to  lay  a  vigorous  grasp  upon 
the  present." 

In  another  letter  he  says :  "  It  is  difficult  to  give 
you  any  idea  of  Cologne,  for  all  is  so  new  to  us. 
We  have  already  seen  much  that  is  grand  and  beau- 
tiful, and  also  much  that  is  comic.  Do  n't  be  alarm- 
ed at  our  having  become  somewhat  Catholic.  In 
the  Cathedral  there  was  a  service  against  the  rain, 
and  at  night  there  were  torchlight  processions,  the 
priests  praying  aloud;  and  were  we  travellers  to 
keep  aloof?  The  streets,  lanes,  and  alleys,  very 
appropriately  called  Spargassen,  are  strangely  intri- 
cate and  perplexing.  Houses  of  all  periods,  antiqui- 
ties of  all  ages,  are  here  seen  side  by  side;  in  a  few 


COKRESPONDENCE.  121 

paces  you  walk  through  the  history  of  the  old  Eo- 
man  times.  The  Colognese  dwell  among  the  stones 
and  ruins  of  fifteen  hundred  years.  On  the  street- 
floor  most  of  the  houses  have  only  a  counting-room 
or  shop,  with  a  dark  room  at  the  back ;  above  are 
warehouses  and  large  rooms  without  windows,  the 
frequent  dwelling-place  of  the  bat  and  owl.  But  on 
passing  through  the  ground-floor  to  the  back  of  the 
house,  you  find  well-built,  spacious  rooms,  in  which 
the  family  live  as  quietly  as  if  it  were  in  the  coun- 
try', and  which  frequently  open  into  large  gardens, 
surrounded  by  venerable  walls  festooned  with  ivy 
and  other  climbing  vines.  We  saw  a  number  of 
small  houses  built  against  the  old  Roman  city  wall, 
and  clustered  together  in  mid-air  like  swallows' 
nests.  How  many  generations  with  their  joys  and 
sorrows  have  passed  away  within  them  ! 

"  But  amid  the  ruins  of  the  past  we  were  pleas- 
antly reminded  of  the  present  by  a  glass  case,  pro- 
tected by  wirework  like  a  parrot's  cage,  and  con- 
taining three  merry  and  fine-looking  children,  which 
was  let  down  upon  us  as  we  passed  under  a  win- 
dow. These  floating  children's  rooms  are  hung  out 
of  the  window  in  the  sunshine,  or  when  there  is 
anything  to  be  seen.  We  went  to  the  cathedral  on 
the  day  of  our  arrival,  though  it  was  already  half 

16 


122        CHRIST  IN  A  GEEMAN  HOME. 

dark.  Our  cicerone  unceremoniously  tapped  on 
the  shoulder  a  very  old  priest  who  was  kneeling 
and  praying  diligently ;  and  the  old  man  rose  at 
once  to  do  the  honors  of  the  cathedral,  while  the 
cicerone  knelt  in  his  place  and  carried  on  the  pray- 
ers. To-day  vre  went  again  for  the  third  time  to 
the  cathedral.  What  honor  has  been  conferred 
upon  man  in  making  him  the  instrument  by  which 
the  Spirit  of  God  produces  such  wonderful  works! 
It  is  impossible  to  write,  about  it.  St.  Peter's  has 
now  recovered  the  picture  of  the  Crucifixion  of 
Peter,  painted  by  Bubens,  and  presented  by  him  to 
this  church  in  which  he  was  baptized.  It  was 
taken  to  Paris  by  the  French ;  but  I  am  afraid  that 
the  barbarity  which  did  not  scruple  to  tear  even 
this  precious  legacy  from  the  very  altar  will  soon 
be  forgotten  by  the  inhabitants.  This  morning, 
after  visiting  the  "Wallraff  collection  of  Colognese 
antiquities,  icliere  I  might  have  learned  much,  if  I  had 
known  more,  we  went  to  the  house  of  Schauberg, 
the  bookseller.  Several  hours  passed  rapidly  away 
in  animated  conversation  ;  Catholicism  and  Protes- 
tantism being  among  the  subjects  discussed.  On 
mentioning  the  incident  of  the  cicerone  and  the 
priest,  I  was  told  it  was  the  office  of  this  priest  to 
show  the  rehcs,  and  that,  whether  praying  or  not, 


COKRESPONDENCE.  123 

he  must  needs  be  always  ready  to  discharge  the 
functions  of  his  office ;  that  among  CathoHcs  it  was 
the  custom  to  treat  God  with  famiharity  as  a  father, 
and  thus  they  could  occasionally  put  him  on  one 
side  with  childlike  confidence,  while  Protestants, 
who,  on  the  contrary,  always  make  an  effort  when 
they  pray,  must  be  on  ceremony  with  him  as  they 
would  with  some  stranger  of  rank !  This  reminded 
me  of  the  drunken  Cathohc  peasants  who,  before 
they  begin  to  fight,  with  a  similar  confiding  spirit, 
put  the  crucifix  imder  the  table,  that  the  Lord  may 
not  be  a  witness  to  the  scandal !" 

In  another  letter  he  says:  "I  do  not  willingly 
speak  of  Catholics  or  of  the  Catholic  church,  except 
with  those  who  have  themselves  received  the  faith 
of  Christ  in  all  humility.  With  such  persons  we 
can  contemplate,  from  a  firm  and  intelligible  stand- 
point, the  various  forms  in  which  the  spirit  of  Chris- 
tianity has  expressed  itself." 

Perthes  reached  Coblentz  on  the  1st  of  August, 
and  early  on  the  following  morning,  the  anniversary 
of  his  wedding,  wrote  to  Caroline :  "  You  are  awake, 
I  am  sure,  and  looking  towards  me  as  I  to  you.  We 
have  known  fulness  of  joy  in  our  nineteen  years  of 
wedded  life,  and  have  also  experienced  much  trou- 
ble and  sorrovv\    God  be  praised  for  both.    I  again 


124        CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

hold  out  my  hand  to  you,  beloved  one,  for  the  years 
that  are  yet  appointed  to  us;  let  us  meet  them 
bravely.  Matthias  is  just  awake,  and  he,  too,  greets 
his  mother." 

At  Frankfort,  Perthes  found  letters  informing 
him  of  the  sudden  and  serious  illness  of  Caroline. 
He  had  resolved  on  a  hasty  return,  when  in  a  letter 
from  Caroline  herself  he  was  assured  that  all  dan- 
ger was  over.  "  How  can  I  thank  you  for  your  let- 
ters," she  wrote,  "  and  for  the  lively  enjoyment  that 
they  afford  me  ?  If  I  were  not  altogether  yours,  I 
would  now  give  myself  to  you  anew.  You  cannot 
conceive  how  thankful  I  am.  To-day  I  have  an- 
other letter,  while  I  am  still  enjoying  those  from 
Cologne  and  Coblentz.  They  are  living  pictures  of 
your  inner  hfe,  and  of  all  that  you  are  seeing  and 
doing,  and  are  inexpressibly  dear  to  me.  Often  I 
can  scarcely  persuade  myself  it  is  only  a  narrative, 
it  is  so  exactly  as  if  I  were  present  at  all  you  de- 
scribe. Rubens'  picture  of  Peter  hangs  before  me 
day  and  night,  and  yet  it  is  too  terribly  beautiful  to 
have  always  before  my  eyes.  I  am  also  thankful  to 
God  for  keeping  you  so  well,  after  so  many  years  of 
v>^earing  labor." 

At  Frankfort,  Humboldt,  who  was  an  old  per- 
sonal  acquaintance,  received   Perthes   with   great 


COKRESPONDENCE.  1^ 

cordiality,  and  took  up  the  book-trade  question 
with  zeal.  After  an  afternoon  passed  in  his  family- 
circle,  Perthes  wrote :  "  There  is  a  wonderful  atmo- 
sphere about  a  really  great  man ;  nowhere  do  we 
feel  so  much  at  home  or  so  free  and  happy. 
Through  all  the  light  play  of  conversation,  in  which 
he  takes  an  equal  share  with  his  wife,  the  real, 
actual  greatness  of  Humboldt  comes  out,  and  I  am 
confirmed  in  my  old  opinion,  so  often  laughed  at, 
that  under  an  ice-cold  exterior  and  a  keen-edged 
sarcasm,  this  man  conceals  deep  and  warm  feelings, 
and  a  lively  interest  in  Germany." 

After  passing  through  many  places  of  interest, 
Perthes  reached  Munich  on  the  25th  of  August,  and 
went  straight  to  his  old  friend  Jacobi.  "  He  received 
us  as  if  we  had  been  his  children,"  he  says,  "and 
with  the  feelings  of  a  child  I  embraced  the  dear 
old  man.  In  appearance  he  is  httle  altered,  and 
his  health  is  quite  as  good  as  can  be  expected  at 
his  age,  especially  for  one  so  delicately  organized 
and  of  so  susceptible  a  temperament.  If  possible, 
he  is  even  more  affectionate  and  cordial  than  ever. 

"  I  have  seen  few  things  in  Munich,  because  I 
felt  that  my  time  belonged  to  Jacobi;  but  the  Pic- 
ture Gallery  has  great  attractions.  For  some  time 
I  was  perplexed,  till  from  the  mass  of  the  great  and 


126        CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

the  beautiful  I  was  able  to  fix  on  something  defi- 
nite :  the  contrasts  are  too  strong.  With  wonder- 
ful power  has  Rubens  penetrated  into  the  dark  side 
of  human  nature,  and  with  equal  power  has  he  ex- 
hibited it.  His  drunken  Silenus  is  a  horrible  com- 
pound of  devil  and  sow;  the  woman  just  falling  into 
hell,  still  reeking  with  passion — the  torments  of  the 
damned  portrayed  in  her  countenance — is  not  less 
horrible  than  the  principal  figure  in  the  same  pic- 
ture, a  bloated  glutton. . . .  The  evil  that  is  in  man 
is  as  truly  represented  by  Rubens  as  man's  heaven- 
ward aspirations  and  pure  affections  are  by  Guido, 
Reni,  and  Raphael.  Man  is  in  both;  we  feel  and 
are  conscious  of  the  contradiction  that  we  carry 
within  us,  but  here  we  see  it  in  pictures.  It  was 
strange  to  see  again  the  pictures  that  were  in  the 
former  DUsseldorf  Gallery,  and  which  I  helped 
Tischbein  to  take,  one  by  one,  out  of  a  chest  in  a 
barn  at  Glukstatt." 

"  Matthias  shall  have  my  special  thanks  to-day," 
replies  Caroline,  "for  his  descriptions  of  nature, 
which  really  did  me  good,  after  you  had  frightened 
me  with  Rubens'  dreadful  picture.  I  hold  it  to  be 
sinful  and  wrong  to  pervert  such  a  divine  gift  as 
Rubens  has  received  to  such  corrupt  and  monstrous 
uses.     I  rejoice  over  one  who  has  passed  through 


COEBESPONDENCE.  127 

life  without  having  known,  seen,  imagined,  or  been 
susceptible  of  such  abominations.  How  dare  a 
man,  by  the  medium  of  pictures,  realize  to  better 
and  purer  souls,  who  dream  not  of  them,  things 
which  are  the  disgrace  and  brand  of  humanity  ?  In 
a  word,  I  hate  such  pictures,  in  spite  of  all  the  art 
with  which  they  may  be  painted.  It  is  a  black  art. 
Matthias  should  not  paint  such  pictures  if  he  could. 
I  glory  in  God's  work — Nature.  She  comes  from 
him  and  leads  to  him,  and  happy  is  he  who  has  it 
in  his  power  to  look  upon  these  works  as  you  have 
done.  Dear  Matthias,  fill  your  soul  with  such  pic- 
tures, and  let  them  live  there  till  you  have  learned 
to  draw  nigh  to  your  Creator  in  another  and  higher 
way.  Bring  back  to  me  all  that  you  can  apprehend 
and  communicate ;  I  long  for  it." 

"  I  have  again  spent  some  hours  with  Jacobi," 
wrote  Perthes  immediately  before  his  departure 
from  Munich.  "He  took  me  into  his  room  alone, 
and  spoke  of  many  things,  and  his  voice  was  often 
tremulous.  He  was  always  beginning  the  conver- 
sation afresh,  and  I  could  see  plainly  that  he  dread- 
ed the  parting  moment.  He  felt  as  I  did,  that  in 
this  life  we  shall  never  meet  again." 

And  now  that  Perthes  was  entering  the  hitherto 
unknown  world  of  the  Alps,  he  forgot  kingdoms. 


128       CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

literature,  and  tlie  book  trade,  and  surrendered  him- 
self  with  joy  to  the  overpowering  impressions  of 
that  glorious  region. 

But  the  human  element  in  man  never  amid  such 
scenery  lost  its  attractive  and  abiding  interest  for 
him.  "I  have,"  he  says,  "seen  many  men,  and 
men  of  all  kinds,  in  my  long  journey,  and  my  love 
for  man  is  in  nowise  diminished.  I  have  found  far 
more  intelligence,  ability,  and  uprightness,  and  far 
less  outward  immorality,  than  I  expected.  If  we 
only  meet  men  with  confidence,  and  are  not  repelled 
by  differences  of  manner  and  peculiar  modes  of  view- 
ing things,  we  everywhere  feel  how  nearly  related 
the  individuals  of  our  race  are  to  one  another.  I 
have  felt  in  some  degree  at  home  even  in  the  rigidly 
Cathohc  countries,  and  have  seen  much  that  is 
attractive  there.  How  touching,  for  instance,  was 
it  to  see  in  one  of  the  churehes  at  Augsburg,  the 
childlike  thought  of  a  whole  row  of  little  chapels, 
each  devoted  to  special  prayers,  suited  to  different 
circumstances.  .  .  .  Aftn  all  the  people  of  Cologne 
were  not  far  wrong  when  they  talked  about  the 
Sunday  God  cf  the  Protestants  and  the  family 
God  of  the  CathoHcs,  to  whom  they  can  resort  in 
work  days  and  in  all  the  petty  circumstances  of 
life." 


COREESPONDENCE.  129 

To  this  Caroline  replied :  "  The  little  chapels  for 
prayer  interested  me;  but,  nevertheless,  you  are 
very  unjust  to  Protestantism,  dear  Perthes.  I  can 
tell  you,  as  before  God,  that  /  have  many  little  chap- 
els in  my  heart,  to  ivhich  I  resort  in  time  of  need,  al- 
though not  so  fervently  or  so  purely  as  I  ought  and 
as  I  could  wish.  At  present  the  chapel  of  thank- 
offeiing  takes  up  most  of  my  time,  and  you  must 
retract  what  you  said  of  the  Catholics  being  more 
familiar  with  God  than  we,  and  of  our  making  a 
rush  to  him  only  on  Sundays." 

At  Vienna,  Perthes  was  called  upon  by  a  young 
Cathohc  priest,  who  on  the  death  of  Claudius,  Car- 
oline's father,  had  written  a  letter  full  of  respect 
and  sympathy.  "I,  too,  Hke  most  of  my  associ- 
ates/' he  said,  "  was  a  victim  to  the  religious  free- 
thinking  that  prevailed  in  Austria  imder  Joseph  the 
Second ;  but  my  truant  soul  was  led  back  to  the 
way  of  truth  and  grace  by  the  writings  of  Claudius. 
How  wonderfully  great  he  was !"  On  taking  leave 
he  asked  for  a  picture.  "  It  does  a  wrestling  man 
good,"  he  said,  "  to  be  surrounded  continually  by 
tried  wrestlers ;  e\il  thoughts  are  put  to  flight  when 
the  eye  falls  on  the  portrait  of  one  in  whose  Hving 
presence  one  would  have  blushed  to  own  them." 

Toward  the   end  of  September  Perthes  bade 

ChrUt  in  Ger.  K  me.  17 


130        CHEIST  IN  A  GEEMAN  HOME. 

adieu  to  Vienna,  cleliglited  with  the  fruitful  weeks, 
and  the  conj&dence  he  had  enjoyed  in  that  city. 

A  few  days  later  he  found  himself  near  Schwarz- 
burg,  the  home  of  his  childhood.  In  attempting  to 
cross  a  swollen  stream,  across  which  the  trunks  of 
two  trees  were  thrown  in  place  of  the  bridge  that 
had  been  washed  away,  Matthias,  who  was  fore- 
most, called  out,  "Hold  me,  I  am  falling!"  Per- 
thes seized  the  falling  boy,  and  was  instantly  pre- 
cipitated with  him  into  the  torrent.  Once  Perthes 
rose  to  the  surface,  and  cried,  "Don't  lose  your 
presence  of  mind,"  then  immediately  sank.  Wife 
and  children  flashed  across  his  mind,  and  then  he 
lost  all  consciousness.  Both  were  being  swept  along 
towards  the  wheels  of  a  saw-mill,  when  within  a  few 
yards  of  this  Perthes  was  vigorously  grasped  by  the 
arm,  and  dragged  to  the  shore.  In  the  struggle  for 
life  he  had  kept  con\Tilsive  hold  of  his  son,  and 
now  all  unconsciously  drew  him  to  the  bank.  The 
stranger,  who  had  expected  to  rescue  one  only 
from  certain  death,  found  he  had  saved  two. 

In  the  warm  drying-room  of  a  paper-mill  the 
father  and  son  speedily  recovered  under  the  treat- 
ment of  a  surgeon,  who  happened  fortunately  to  be 
on  the  spot.  They  then  hastened  to  Schwarz- 
bui'g,  where,  well  heated  by  a  rapid  walk,  they 


CORKESPONDENCE.  131 

arrived  towards  evening.  The  hand  of  death  had 
been  upon  them,  but  had  left  no  tokens  of  having 
been  so  near. 

Amid  the  scenes  of  childhood — cherished  and 
affectionately  ministered  to  as  if  he  had  been  a 
child,  by  the  old  colonel,  the  old  master  of  the 
horse,  and  the  old  Aunt  Caroline — Perthes  rested 
for  a  day  or  two  after  the  excitement  of  the  two 
preceding  months,  then  hastened  back  to  Hamburg, 
which  he  reached  early  in  October,  and  found  Car- 
oline, whose  health  had  often  been  a  source  of  anx- 
iety to  him  during  his  absence,  stronger  than  he 
had  left  her. 


XIV. 


RELIGION    AND    RATIONALISIVI, 


y^.J^^HE  Rationalism  which  for  a  time  had 
"^-^  exercised    almost    absolute    dominion 
over  Protestant  Germany,  now  seemed 
f^\}  to  be  giving  way  to  other  influences. 

7  ^  {  A  deeper  spiritual  life  was  awakened  by  the 
trials  through  which  the  nation  had  passed.  Not 
finding  in  Rationalism  the  peace  and  satisfaction  so 
eagerly  craved  in  all  parts  of  Germany,  associations 
were  formed  of  men  seeking  spiritual  help,  and  find- 
ing it  in  the  old  faith  of  the  church. 

Perthes  had  attentively  observed  the  new  move- 
ment, and  though  sensible  of  its  perils,  aberrations 
and  caprices,  yet  heartily  rejoiced  in  it  so  far  as  it 
was  earnest  and  healthy. 

A  friend  in  Berlin  wrote  him  that  certain  young 
men  in  that  city  were  attracting  attention  by  their 
earnestness  in  the  matter  of  salvation;  but  that 


KELIGION  AND  RATIONALISM.       133 

they  were  of  a  sombre  mood,  regarding  eyerj^tliing 
secular,  and  even  art  itseK,  as  sinful.  He  replied : 
"  If  the  zeal  of  the  young  men  be  sincere,  you  need 
not  alarm  yourself  about  their  gloom.  Sadness 
and  cheerfulness  are  things  of  the  temperament, 
and  the  same  earnestness  and  faith  are  variously 
manifested,  by  some  in  seriousness,  by  others  in 
cheerfulness,  according  to  the  bodily  constitution ; 
and  we  may  not,  on  account  of  the  earth] 3^  husk, 
quarrel  with  the  heavenly  substance." 

Another  theological  friend  writes:  "A  very  pe- 
culiar view  of  Christianity  is  just  now  manifesting 
itself  here  and  there  among  the  Moravians.  They 
spHt  men  into  two  parts — the  natural,  which,  as 
such,  according  to  Kant,  has  no  knowledge  of  the 
infinite  and  divine,  and  the  intuitive,  which  sees 
God  and  eternity  everywhere." 

Perthes  answered:  "It  is  not  the  business  of 
Christianity,  by  fine-spun  theories  to  immortalize 
the  contest  which  goes  on  within  us  all ;  rather  it 
is  by  means  of  saving  faith^  to  make  of  tivain  one  neiv 
man.  He  who  has  not  felt  the  internal  working  of 
a  great  mystery,  which  is  ever  alienating  us  from 
God,  will  never  attain  to  that  humility  without 
which  the  saving  virtue  of  the  atonement  is  inac- 
cessible.    The  flesh  is  not  the  root  of  evil;  pride, 


134        CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

pride  is  the  real  devil.  The  flesh  is  but  the  means 
of  punishment  and  cure,  ever  reminding  the  proud- 
est of  his  misery  and  helplessness.  Little  that  is 
positive  is  revealed  to  us,  but  that  little  is  all. 
What  form  shall  be  given  to  revealed  truth  is  an 
open  question,  for  it  breaks  into  rays  of  the  most 
various  colors,  according  to  the  fancy  and  modes 
of  thought  peculiar  to  individuals  and  epochs. 
But  when  you  say  that  the  Christian  revelation,  if 
received  as  truth,  at  once  shrouds  history  and  phi- 
losophy in  a  haze,  in  which  man  is  confounded,  and 
dreams  rather  than  thinks,  I  reply,  that  to  every 
one  who  ignores  the  redemption  through  Christ, 
history  becomes  one  tangled  skein,  and  every  philo- 
sophical system  a  sum  in  arithmetic,  the  correct- 
ness of  which,  for  want  of  proof,  can  never  be 
ascertained." 

To  another  he  writes :  "  You  say  that  with  the 
mysteries  of  Christianity  your  religion  ceases.  To 
this  I  reply,  that  the  God  of  Eationalism  baffles 
conception  far  more  than  does  the  mj^stery  of 
Christianity.  By  the  idea  of  an  eternal  Being,  ex- 
alted above  time  and  space,  the  Bationahst  seeks 
to  satisfy  himself  and  others — but  what  he  means 
by  these  words,  he  neither  says  nor  knows.  Man 
cannot  conceive  of  a  personal  God  without  invest- 


RELIGION  AND  RATIONALISM.      135 

ing  him  with  a  human  form;  every  rehgion  is  an 
incarnation  of  Deity,  and  so  far  an  obscure  antici- 
pation of  God's  manifestation  in  the  flesh." 

"You  say  that  Christianity  is  forced  upon  man," 
wrote  Perthes,  to  another  friend,  "  and  are  dis- 
pleased that  it  should  be  so.  .  .  .  Christianity  was 
not  forced  upon  me,  but  I  upon  Christianity ;  I  was 
thrown  by  an  inward  necessity  into  the  arms  of  the 
Saviour,  and  so,  I  believe,  are  many  others. 

"  Our  existence  is  that  of  fallen  spirits ;  but  we 
have  retained  a  yearning  after  the  purity  of  our 
divine  origm,  and  this  elevates  everything.  "We 
are  all  conscious  of  an  effort  to  soar,  to  climb,  or  to 
creep  upward;  many  get  the  length  of  struggling 
with  evil,  but  none  gain  a  victory;  the  most  eleva- 
ted, as  well  as  the  most  grovelling  natures,  need  a 
Helper  and  a  Mediator,  in  order  to  rise;  and  ho 
who  is  unconscious  of  this  necessity,  wearies  him- 
self out  in  ineffectual  endeavors.  For  him  who,  in 
the  anguish  of  his  heart,  cries  out,  '  I  am  a  miser- 
able sinner,'  and  stretches  forth  his  arms  to  the 
Saviour — for  him,  I  say,  Christ  died.  How  closely, 
then,  is  faith  in  the  Eedeemer  allied  with  the  reali- 
zation of  one's  own  sinfulness !  Many,  who  no  more 
recognized  Christ  than  did  the  disciples  at  Em- 
maus,  may  yet  have  prayed  to  him,  and  in  their 


136        CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

perplexity  made  an  idol  tlieir  mediator.  Sucli  men 
Christ  will,  in  his  own  time,  bring  to  that  truth 
which  is  rest  and  light;  and  many  will  sit  down 
on  the  right  hand  of  God,  who  in  this  life  never 
uttered  the  name  of  Christ." 

"  The  Divine  light,"  says  Count  Stolberg  in  one 
of  his  letters,  "has  so  thoroughly  penetrated  the 
modern  mind,  that  our  civilization  could  not  be 
preserved  if  that  light  were  extinguished.  The 
heathen  philosophy  found  an  element  of  preserva- 
tion in  that  yearning  after  light  in  which  it  origina- 
ted ;  but  the  false  philosophy  of  our  times  originates 
in  insensibility,  audacity,  and  vanity,  without  any 
yearning  after  light  or  truth." 


XV 


MARRIAGE  OF  THE  ELDEST  DAUGHTER. 

XTHOUGH  neither  the  political  com- 
motions, nor  the  manifold  religious  and 
ecclesiastical  controversies  of  the  time 
ever  became  uninteresting  to  Caroline, 
or  failed  to  draw  forth  her  sympathies,  they 
never  again  engrossed  her  soul  as  in  1813. 
Her  heart  was  in  her  home,  and  there  she  ever 
found  fresh  cause  of  joy  and  gratitude. 

Her  eldest  daughter,  Agnes,  had  been  betrothed 
smce  the  summer  of  1813,  to  William  Perthes,  who 
had  formerly  been  associated  with  Perthes  at  Ham- 
burg, afterwards  campaigned  as  a  volunteer,  and 
now  managed  the  business  which  he  had  inherited 
from  his  father  in  Gotha,  and  which,  under  his  aus- 
pices, had  become  very  flourishing. 

"God  has  again  showered  down  joy  and  glad- 
ness upon  us,"   wrote  Caroline   about  this  time; 
"  how  can  I  thank  him  enough  for  manifestly  pro- 
18 


138        CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

tectiiig  us  and  our  children !  It  is  certainly  a  great 
happiness  to  be  able  to  commit  so  pure  and  inno- 
cent a  child  to  the  man  whom  we  have  so  long 
esteemed,  knowing  that  he  will  cleave  to  her  with 
his  whole  heart,  loving  and  cherishing  her  as  long 
as  he  lives." 

On  the  12th  of  May,  1818,  the  marriage  took 
place,  and  on  the  16th  the  young,  couple  departed 
for  their  new  home.  "  My  beloved  Agnes,  you  have 
hardly  been  gone  from  me  three  hours,"  says  her 
mother,  "  and  I  am  already  writing  to  you,  because 
I  cannot  help  it.  When  you  left,  I  watched  you 
till  you  had  passed  the  bridge,  and  then  gave  you 
up  in  sure  confidence  that  you  are,  and  ever  will 
remain,  in  God's  hands.  You,  dear  Agnes,  know 
that  I  love  you,  and  can  imagine  the  rest.  How 
well  I  remember  the  moment  when  you  were  first 
laid  beside  me,  when  I  looked  at  yon  for  the  first 
time,  and  gave  you  the  first  kiss.  Since  then  I 
have  rejoiced  in  you  every  day;  I  might  say  every 
hour,  through  twenty  years.  Should  I  not  thank 
God,  and  if  he  has  willed  it,  consent  to  part  with 
you  ?  He  will  forgive  me  if  I  cannot  do  it  without 
tears.  And  you,  too,  my  dear  Agnes,  must  and 
ought  to  weep;  and  your  beloved  William  will  un- 
derstand you,  and  forgive  you  if  you  weep  too  long. 


ELDEST  DAUGHTER'S  MAnRIAGE.  139 

Never  conceal  from  him  anything  that  relates  to 
yourself,  even  if  you  think  that  it  may  displease 
him :  you  will  soon  find  that  even  with  the  fondest 
love,  there  is  room  for  mutual  forbearance.  I  re- 
joice beforehand  in  your  future,  for  we,  too,  shall  be 
sharers  in  it.  Reniemler  that  you  are  never  to  be 
weary  of  communicating  your  joys  and  sorrows, 
that  so  we  may  still  live  a  common  life." 

"  Your  father  has  just  brought  me  your  letter," 
she  writes  in  answer  to  the  first  news  from  Gotha. 
"  I  have  read  it  again  and  again,  and  rejoice  and 
thank  God,  and  also  your  dear  William,  for  making 
you  so  happy.  You  know  how  confident  I  was  of 
this  beforehand,  and  it  will  be  permanent  where 
God  has  given  his  blessing.  Conjugal  happiness 
lives  in  the  depths  of  the  heart  even  amid  the  sor- 
rows and  trials  of  life;  indeed,  it  is  by  these  only 
the  more  deeply  rooted,  as  I  know  from  my  own 
experience,  thank  God.  I  rejoice  with  you,  and  on 
your  own  account,  dear  children,  and  school  myself 
to  bear  your  absence  cheerfully.  So  does  your 
father;  it  is  a  real  pleasure  to  look  at  his  face  when 
he  comes  to  the  door  with  one  of  your  letters." 

"  We  cannot  think  of  anything  but  AYilliam's  birth- 
day," she  writes  somewhat  later.  "  We  would  have 
gladly  lived  in  the  same  place  with  you,  if  God  had 


UO        CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

so  ordered  it.  Ah !  wliat  a  pity  that  the  world  is 
so  wide !  How  delightful  it  would  be  if  we,  and 
all  whom  we  love,  could  live  together,  and  we  could 
have  kept  this  birthday  with  you.  But  I  will  not 
complain.  I  will  rather  rejoice  and  be  glad  even 
in  your  removal.  May  God  preserve  your  happi- 
ness to  you  and  us,  and  with  it  a  watcliful  and 
thankful  heart.  I  cannot  tell  you  often  enough 
that  you  are  always  with  me  and  at  my  side ;  and 
none  knows  so  well  as  myself  how  gladly  I  would 
hear  you  answer  when  in  thought  I  speak  with  you. 
At  the  same  time  I  do  not  grudge  you  to  your  dear 
William,  and  it  is  my  constant  desire  that  you  may 
become  dearer  and  dearer  to  each  other.  That 
you  are  in  the  right  path  I  am  fully  persuaded. 
Yours  is  indeed  a  happy  lot,  my  beloved  Agnes, 
and  if  every  day  finds  you  walking  more  humbly 
before  God,  and  more  lovingly,  you  will  have  a 
heaven  within  you.  Your  dear  father  is  well  and 
cheerful.  "Would  that  he  could  only  secure  a  quiet 
hour  for  me  occasionally !  This  is  my  only  want, 
and  it  troubles  me  more  and  oftener  than  it  ought.'* 
In  July,  1818,  Caroline  went  with  Perthes  for  a 
few  days  to  Ltibeck,  to  visit  her  family,  returning 
by  Kheinfeld,  the  birthplace  of  her  father.  "We 
have  actually  been  to  Liibeck,  and  enjoyed  it  very 


ELDEST  DAUGHTER'S  MAERIAGE.  141 

much,"  she  wrote  to  Agnes.  "Your  father  was 
youug  again,  and  very  merry,  and  so  was  I. 
We  stayed  two  days  with  my  brother,  and  were 
truly  happy.  I  am  really  well,  and  hardly  know 
which  is  best,  to  awake  or  to  go  to  sleep  in  health; 
but  I  think  the  latter.  O  Agnes,  pray  that  I  may 
remain  so !  St.  Mary's  Church  is  large,  and  I  be- 
lieve that  many  earnest  prayers  and  cries  ascend 
to  heaven  from  it.  The  long  row  of  tombs,  with 
their  great  stone  cofiSns,  and  the  obscurity  of  the 
place,  impressed  me  deeply.  .  .  .  On  Tuesday  we 
left  for  Kheinfeld,  the  quietness  of  which  passes  all 
description.  It  is  situated  on  the  shore  of  a  large 
lake,  richly  wooded  on  one  side.  It  was  a  still, 
peaceful  evening ;  we  had  escaped  from  the  .world, 
were  alone,  and  inconceivably  happy.  Would  to 
God  we  had  more  such  hours!  When  our  busy 
life  in  Hamburg  occurred  to  me,  I  felt  rather  dis- 
couraged, and  yet  I  am  convinced  that  my  work 
there  is,  on  the  whole,  better  for  me  than  this  calm 
blessedness.  God  has  led  me  by  a  very  different 
way  from  that  which  I  had  laid  out  for  myself,  but 
it  has  been  the  right  way — this  I  not  only  believe, 
but  know.  He  has  given  me  in  labor  and  tumult 
what  I  would  gladly  have  sought  and  found  in  quiet 
and  solitude.     We  also  went  to  the  church  of  your 


U-2  CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

dear  grandfather,  and  to  his  grave,  and  into  the 
confessional,  where  there  was  an  old  arm-chair  in 
which  he  had  often  sat,  and  a  few  books  he  had 
often  read.  The  next  morning  we  again  went  out 
for  a  walk,  and  rested  ourselves  in  a  beautiful  spot. 
How  I  did  rejoice  in  the  happiness  of  your  father ; 
he  was  so  delighted  with  me  and  everything !  But 
to  return  to  you  and  your  letter :  what  you  write  of 

N 's  children  is  true,  and  distresses  me  greatly, 

for  I  am  convinced  that  heartfelt  love,  which  lets 
itself  be  seen,  and  in  a  manner  felt  in  everything,  is 
the  dew  and  the  rain  indispensable  to  the  growth 
and  bloom  of  children.  I  believe  that  the  luore 
children  are  loved,  and  the  more  conscious  they  are 
of  being  loved,  the  better ;  of  course  there  is  also  a 
time  for  seriousness  and  discipline.  But  I  know 
many  people  who  think  it  right  carefully  to  conceal 
their  affection  from  their  children.  They  should 
study  1  Cor.,  chap.  13,  and  they  would  see  that  there 
is  nothing  to  fear  in  that  direction.  You  know  that 
with  reference  neither  to  children,  nor  to  anything 
else,  am  I  fond  of  words;  but  to  give  occasional 
expression  to  the  feelings  of  the  heart,  I  consider 
right;  the  mouth  naturally  overflows  with  what- 
ever fills  the  heart,  and  how  can  it  overflow  but  in 
words  T 


ELDEST  DAUGHTER'S  MARRIAGE.  143 

In   another  letter  she   says:    "You   ask  after 

F ;  she  was  here  lately,  and  was  so  ingenuous 

and  confiding,  that,  to  my  horror,  she  did  not  shrink 
from  saying  that  she  believed  all  unmarried  women 
had  missed  their  vocation,  and  had  but  a  melan- 
choly prospect.  I  pray  God  to  defend  every  girl 
from  so  miserable  a  notion.  No;  God  has  provi- 
ded love  and  happiness  for  all  who  will  accept 
them,  whatever  their  rank  or  sex.  No  one  need 
want  objects  of  affection,  dear  Agnes.  You  cannot 
for  a  moment  doubt  that  I,  like  you,  regard  a  good 
husband  as  a  great  and  precious  gift  from  God; 
but  God  can  send  his  blessing  directly  into  the 
heart,  without  attaching  it  to  any  intermediate  ob- 
ject, and  make  us  happy  without  husbands.  For, 
dear  Agnes,  your  mutual  love  can  be  a  means  of 
happiness  and  blessing  only  as  it  increases  yoar 
love  to  God ;  and  can  you  not  imagine,  that  to  turn 
directly  to  God,  and  love  him  without  the  interven- 
tion of  any  human  medium,  must  be  far,  far  better? 
And  even  with  a  human  medium  I  can  imagine  un- 
married to  be  quite  as  happy  as  married  life,  else 
poor  maidens  might  despair,  and  we  with  them  and 
for  them.  If  we  but  propose  to  ourselves  some 
serious  object,  pm^suing  it  with  our  whole  heai:t, 
and  laboring  for  it  in  dependence  on  God,  his  bless- 


144        CHEIST  IN  A  GEEMAN  HOME. 

ing  and  happiness  can  never  fail  ns.  This  is  my 
honest  opinion,  and  I  beheve  that  every  young 
woman  acts  wisely  Avhen  she  turns  her  affections 
to  God,  instead  of  looking  about  her  with  yearning 
and  anxiety  for  an  earthly  object.  This  is  a  mel- 
ancholy condition  which  withers  and  dries  up  the 
heart,  and  annihilates  all  happiness.  I  know  noth- 
ing so  sad  as  a  poor  girl  in  this  condition,  especially 
if  she  be  pure  and  good.  If,  however,  a  woman 
finds  such  a  dear  Perthes  as  you  and  I  have  found, 
or  rather  as  God  has  given  us,  let  her  close  with 
him  at  once  and  be  thankful." 

In  regard  to  new  friends  Caroline  wrote:  "I 
thank  you  for  your  letter,  but  not  at  all  that  you 
have  not  yet  looked  out  for  a  real  friend  of  your 
own  sex.  I  earnestly  wish  one  for  you,  so  that  you 
may  have  something  to  fall  back  upon,  when  Will- 
iam cannot  be  with  you.  If  you  are  sketching  a 
model  of  perfection  in  your  friend,  I  can  quite  un- 
derstand how  it  is  that  you  have  not  found  one ; 
but  you  must  make  allowances,  and  go  forth  with  a 
generous  confidence,  not  suffering  yourself  to  be 
ruffled,  as  you  too  often  do.  It  is  often  easier  to 
tolerate  weaknesses  and  failings,  than  manners  and 
modes  of  speech  to  which  we  are  unaccustomed. 
Only  bear  perpetually  in  mind  that  there  is  no  dif- 


ELDEST  DAUGHTEB'S  MABRIAGE.  M5 

ference  at  heart  between  the  people  of  Gofcha  and 
Hamburg.  There,  as  here,  there  is  much  short- 
coming and  much  good,  and  many  httle  tilings  you 
would  rather  do  without,  yet  which  you  must  take 
along  with  every  acquisition.  It  is  very  natiu'al 
that  the  good  quahties  of  your  friends  here  should 
appear  to  you  in  the  Hvehest  colors;  their  weak- 
nesses and  failings,  on  the  other  hand,  in  the  faint- 
est; and  yet,  there  were  not  many  of  them,  with 
whom  you  could  speak  of  the  deepest  and  holiest 
things,  and  to  whom  you'  could  pour  out  your 
whole  heart.  Nevertheless  you  loved  them,  and 
took  pleasure  in  their  society.  Only  make  the 
attempt  in  Gotha;  let  your  heart  speak  in  truth 
and  confidence,  and  you  will  find  that  what  comes 
from  the  heart,  goes  to  the  heart ;  you  will  be  met 
more  than  half-way,  for  the  necessity  and  the 
pleasure  of  loving  and  being  loved  is  common  to 
us  all,  and  the  young  ladies  there  have  no  William 
as  you  have." 

Perthes  also  wrote  to  warn  his  daughter  against 
seclusion  fi-om  others:  "Make  the  most  of  your 
own  happiness,  but  remember  that  you  are  not 
alone  in  the  world ;  and  do  not  shut  up  your  house 
from  your  friends!  It  is  perilous,  and  leads  to 
family  egotism,  and  brings  its  own  punishment.     I 

Christ  ill  Get-.  ITom*.  X9 


146         CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

am  glad  that  you  have  young  men  living  with  you, 
dear  William.  Continue  this  custom  even  to  old 
age ;  it  will  preserve  you  alike  from  the  gossip  and 
tedium  of  company.  Communicate  freely  with 
others,  and  show  that  domestic  happiness  does  not 
estrange  you  from  them.  The  earth  is  God's  house, 
and  we  may  not  live  only  to  ourselves.  I  know, 
dear  Agnes,  that  you  will  not  let  any  needy  person 
whom  you  can  help  go  empty  away ;  but  neighbors 
and  acquaintances  wish  to  talk  of  their  affairs,  their 
joys  and  sorrows,  and'  those  of  their  friends,  and 
nothing  is  so  offensive  as  cold  reserve,  as  though 
we  were  beings  of  a  superior  nature,  able  to  live, 
suffer,  and  rejoice  alone." 

"  That  you  do  not  find  in  the  pulpit  what  you 
seek,"  wrote  Caroline,  "distresses  me  greatly,  but 
does  not  surprise  me,  since  the  clergy  for  the  niost 
part  preach  only  morality,  which  is  but  meagre 
fare.  But  do  not  be  cast  down  on  this  account, 
my  dear  x4gnes;  take  refuge  in  your  inner  church. 
God  can  serve  up  a  better  table  than  any  preacher, 
and  will  assuredly  feed  you,  if  only  you  are  hungry. 
The  old  hymns  and  chorals  have  ever  been  my  best 
stimulants,  and  are  so  still,  whenever  the  inner  life 
grows  languid ;  in  particular,  those  beautiful  hymns 
of   longing  after  God,  in  Freylinghausen's  book, 


ELDEST  DAUGHTER'S  MARRIAGE.  147 

have  often  revived  me,  and  will,  I  trust,  support  me 
even  in  death.  But  if  the  preaching  be  not  satis- 
factory, do  not  on  this  account  absenc  yourself 
from  church.  There  are  seasons  in  which  you  are 
more  likely  to  be  aroused  and  quickened  in  the 
church  than  in  the  house,  where  I  at  least  seldom 
have  a  quiet  hour." 

"I  am  indeed  sorry,"  she  says,  in  a  letter  of 
later  date,  "that  you  are  obliged  to  live  without 
music :  still,  my  advice  is,  not  to  form  any  intima- 
cies only  for  the  sake  of  music.  You  might  pay  too 
dearly  for  it,  and  not  perhaps  find  it  easy  to  draw 
back.  My  piano  is  also  dumb ;  I  cannot  sing  one 
of  our  songs  to  it.  When  I  sound  the  first  note,  I 
feel  that  you  are  no  longer  by  my  side ;  tears  then 
come  and  choke  the  rest.  Yes,  dear  Agnes,  I  feel 
that  it  is  a  hard  duty  to  part  with  a  gift  in  which 
God  has  so  long  allowed  us  to  rejoice." 

In  this,  and  in  many  other  letters,  we  see  the 
struggle  in  Caroline's  heart  between  her  joy  at  the 
happiness  of  her  child,  and  the  sorroAV  of  separa- 
tion. "  I  know  that  you  are  happy,  and  that  is  the 
chief  thing;  but,  my  dear  Agnes,  a  mother's  heart 
is  not  at  all  times  to  be  quieted  by  reason,  and  has 
its  own  rights  too.  Only  it  must  not  be  intractable. 
That  it  should  not  be  so,  is  in  quiet  hours  my  daily 


148        CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

study.  As  long  as  you  were  with  me,  I  was  wholly 
yours — heart  and  soul,  mind  and  body,  hands  and 
feet ;  if  you  have  no  longer  need  of  my  hands  and 
feet,  you  may  yet  find  my  affection  useful,  for  in 
this  consists  the  glory  and  excellency  of  love,  that 
if  we  are  only  pure,  it  can  never  hurt  us ;  of  its  giv- 
ing and  receiving  there  is  no  end  here,  and  it 
endures  throughout  eternity." 

"  That  you  still  think  of  us  with  warm  affection 
and  attachment,  and  would  gladly  be  with  us,  I 
find  quite  natural,"  she  writes  in  another  letter. 
"  You  could  not  love  your  "William  so  well  if  you 
could  forget  us.  I  am  fully  persuaded  that  I  love 
you  as  truly  and  fondly  as  William  does,  and  have 
done  so  for  twenty  years,  and  what  will  be  better 
yet,  my  dear,  long-loved  Agnes — for  ever.  Preserve 
then  your  affection  for  us  in  all  its  fervor;  it  is 
quite  consistent  with  that  to  your  dear  William. 
The  soul  is  so  constituted,  that  while  we  are  here 
below,  wishing  and  yearning  are  not  only  com23ati- 
ble  with  our  happiness,  but  our  best  and  proper 
happiness  is  only  realized  when  this  wishing  and 
yearning  are  directed  toward  the  best  things." 

"  To-morrow  is  our  wedding-day,"  writes  Caro- 
line, in  a  letter  on  the  1st  of  August.  "  It  is  the 
first  one  on  which  I  have  to  look  back  on  p;ifts 


ELDEST  DAUGHTER'S  MARRIAGE.  149 

resigned.  Do  you  enjoy  the  onward  road?  It 
also  has  its  cares  and  troubles ;  but,  as  I  find  by 
experience,  the  retrospect  is  harder  and  more  pain- 
ful. Youth  has  its  dangers;  but  those  of  age  are, 
I  fear,  greater  and  more  trying,  though,  thank 
Heaven,  I  observe  this  rather  in  others  than  in 
myself,  and  in  God's  name  I  also  am  going  forward. 
Dear  Agnes,  love  me  still,  and  keep  as  close  to  me 
as  you  can.  My  dear  husband  is  quite  well  and 
cheerful,  and  as  dear  to  me  now  as  he  was  twenty 
years  ago.  I  never  believed  it  possible  that  affec- 
tion could  continue  so  uninterruptedly  for  twenty- 
one  years ;  and  how  much  longer  it  will  continue  is 
not  for  me  to  say." 

Again,  on  the  following  day :  "  The  children  had 
adorned  our  breakfast-table  with  flowers  and  wed- 
ding garlands.  We  sat  in  a  bower  of  leafy  green, 
and  examined  the  little  presents  that  your  sisters 
had  prepared  for  us.  It  appears  very  strange  to 
^  me  that  you  should  be  wandering  about  the  world 
without  me  on  this  day,  and  that  I  should  not  know 
where  you  are." 

But  it  was  not  only  the  joyful  anniversaries  that 
were  remembered  by  CaroHne.  *'  It  is  six  years 
to-day  since  my  angel  Bernard  was  born,"  she 
writes  in   September,   "and   his   earthly  body  is 


150        CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

already  so  dissolved  tliat  I  can  now  only  see  Lis 
dear  bright  eyes,  which,  when  I  was  in  trouble,  used 
to  revive  and  strengthen  me,  and  renew  my  confi- 
dence and  joy  in  the  Lord.  You  also  recollect  how 
lie  rejoiced  and  comforted  us  all  at  Aschan,  and 
how  kindly  and  pleasantly  and  lovingly  he  looked 
on  us  all.  Would  that,  though  unseen  by  me,  he  still 
looked  upon  me,  and  raised  my  soul  to  God  !  The 
angel-child  must  be  able,  and  he  is  certainly  will- 
ing, to  do  even  more  for  us  now.  How  gladly  I 
would  know  more  about  the  nature  of  the  happi- 
ness of  my  beloved,  departed  children.  God  does 
indeed  allow  us  to  apprehend  it  in  the  depths  of 
onr  hearts,  as  something  transcending  thought;  but 
whenever  I  would  realize  this  presentment  of  the 
heart  in  my  understanding,  it  dissolves  and  van- 
ishes altogether;  and  yet  I  cannot  help  thinking, 
though  I  know  that  it  is  in  vain,  and  that  on  this, 
as  on  all  other  great  questions,  we  can  do  nothing 
more  in  this  world  than  keep  alive  in  ourselves  the 
yearning  and  longing  after  truth,  not  allowing  it  to 
be  disturbed  and  destroyed  by  external  influences 
of  any  kind."  ' 

A  new  source  of  happiness  was  opened  to  Caro- 
line in  the  prospect  of  becoming  a  grandmother. 
"  I  have  just  received  your  letter,  dear  children,  and 


ELDEST  DAUGHTER'S  MAERIAGE.  151 

am  beyond  measure  delighted,  affected,  and  thank- 
ful. You  can  have  no  idea  of  the  happiness  that, 
if  it  please  God,  is  awaiting  you.  Neither  can  I 
explain  it  to  you,  although  for  twenty  years  my 
heart  has  been  filled  with  it.  Eejoice,  and  again  I 
say  rejoice,  and  pray  to  God  for  his  blessing.  If  I 
could  but  tell  you  something  of  your  coming  joys ; 
but  they  are  inconceivable  and  unspeakable,  and 
come  directly  from  God  himself.  May  he  impart 
them  in  richest  measure." 

The  succeeding  letters  express  the  tenderest 
maternal,  sympathy  with  the  hopes  and  fears  of  her 
daughter.  Near  the  end  of  1818  she  wrote :  "  Ev- 
ery one  has,  doubtless,  reason  both  for  hope  and 
fear  in  regard  to  the  new  year,  but  God  helps  us  all 
through.  Farewell,  dear  Agnes,  and  don't  forget 
your  grandfather's  prescription  for  the  eve  of  New- 
Year's  day ;  namely,  to  sit  down  on  a  stone  and 
pray.  You  have  much  to  remember  and  to  hope 
for ;  but  you  must  spare  us,  too,  a  thought  from  the 
depths  of  your  heart." 

"  A  happy,  happy  Christmas  may  God  give  you, 
dear  children,"  wrote  Caroline  on  despatching  a 
small  Christmas  box.  "If  you  have  but  a  tenth 
part  of  the  delight  in  unpacking  which  the  children 
had  in  packing  it,  you  will  be  content.     The  three 


152        CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

little  ones  have  been  especially  busy,  and  tlie  pleas- 
ure of  giving  and  sending  has  often  ended  in  tears 
because  there  was  nothing  more  to  give.  Remem- 
ber that  your  gratihcation  is  to  equal  theirs,  or  we 
shall  not  be  satisfied.  The  box  will  reach  you  at 
six  o'clock,  and  then,  assuredly,  you  will  think  of 
us,  and  I  too  shall  think  of  you,  dear  Agnes.  You 
seem  still  a  part  of  myself;  and  though  I  weep,  I 
cannot  tell  whether  they  are  tears  of  joy  or  sorrow. 
The  Christmas  prayer  which  I  put  up  for  you  last 
year  is  more  than  fulfilled.  Let  us  then  now  again 
thank  God,  and  place  ourselves  and  those  who  are 
near  and  dear  to  us  with  confidence  and  faith  in 
His  arms,  and  rejoice.  You  must  also  help  us  to 
thank  Him.  Let  us  with  united  voices  sing,  '  Oh, 
for  a  thousand  tongues,'  etc.  That  sweet  hymn 
always  recurs  to  me  when  I  know  not  what  to  say 
in  reviewing  the  past  one-and-twenty  years." 

"Perthes  is  a  true  child  at  Christmas  time," 
says  Caroline,  a  few  days  later,  in  her  account  of 
Christmas  eve.  "My  heart  is  stirred  afresh  by  him 
every  year  at  that  season.  It  is  three-and-twenty 
years  since  I  first  felt  this,  and  my  conviction,  that 
one  who  could  take  such  childlike  dehght  in  the 
Christmas-tree  must  have  a  pure  and  simple  heart, 
has  not  been  falsified.    This  was  the  impression  that 


ELDEST  DAUGHTER'S  MARRIAGE.   153 

mj  heart  received  on  that  evening  when  I,  properly 
speaking,  first  saw  him ;  that  indeed  was  the  day  of 
my  real  betrothal.  I  can  never  thank  God  enough 
for  his  affection.  "When  yesterday  evening  at  six 
o'clock  we  sat  down  to  table,  he  was  so  wearied  and 
depressed  that  it  made  us  sad  to  see  him;  but 
when  the  tree  was  hghted  he  became  as  lively  and 
frolicsome  as  the  youngest  child." 

At  Easter,  Caroline  writes:  "God  give  you  a 
joyous  festival;  and  why  should  he  not,  since  he 
has  made  every  day  a  festival  by  the  deep  and  abi- 
ding love  that  he  has  put  into  your  heart  ?  That 
he  can  give  us  nothing  better,  even  in  eternity,  is 
certain ;  only  we  cannot  yet  understand  the  great- 
ness of  our  blessedness,  because  we  know  so  little 
at  present  of  pure  love  to  God,  although  we  have 
some  foretaste  of  it  in  the  delight  we  feel  in  the 
outgoings  of  our  feeble  love  to  our  fellow-creatures. 
The  children  are  all  gone  out,  and  I  meant  to  read 
a  sermon  of  Taulerus ;  but  you  and  William,  your 
happiness  and  your  hopes  have  stirred  my  heart  so 
deeply  that  I  have  been  unable.  Dear  WUliam,  I 
feel  real  joy  and  happiness  in  having  so  nursed, 
cherished,  and  brought  up  Agnes  for  you.  May 
God  grant  you  the  same  pleasure  in  your  children 

that  he  has  hitherto  given  us  in  ours.     More  I  can- 
20 


154         CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

not  wish  you,  for  I  know  no  more.  I  have,  to  my 
great  delight,  just  opened  the  balcony  door  for  the 
first  time  this  year,  and  am  quite  transported  with 
all  that  the  sweet  spring  breathes,  and  with  all  that 
it  reveals  to  eye  and  ear.  The  little  birds  know  not 
how  to  leave  off  singing  and  rejoicing,  and  I  would 
sing  and  rejoice  with  them." 

In  April,  Perthes  and  Caroline,  with  four  chil- 
dren, visited  Agnes  in  Gotha.  "  We  arrived  safe, 
and  well  and  happy,"  wrote  Caroline.  "  The  jour- 
ney was  bitterly  cold ;  but  our  inward  joy  kept  us 
so  warm  that  the  external  cold  could  not  touch  us. 
The  postilions  were  all  good  and  steady  except  one, 
who  had  a  drop  in  his  head ;  but  just  as  we  were 
beginning  to  be  uneasy  we  met  another  posting  car- 
riage, and  by  changing  horses  got  quit  of  him. 
Both  the  little  ones  behaved  very  well,  and  by  their 
merriment  and  lively  observation  of  all  that  they 
saw  and  heard,  and  their  surprise  at  the  sight  of 
mountains,  trees,  and  rocks,  greatly  increased  our 
pleasure,  although  the  charge  of  such  young  trav- 
ellers was  not  without  inconvenience.  I  was  obhged 
to  hold  one  in  each  arm  during  the  whole  night,  to 
keep  them  from  cold,  and  soften  the  jolting  of  the 
carriage.  "When  we  came  near  Gotha  I  could 
scarcel}^  restrain  my  feelings." 


ELDEST  DAUGHTER'S  MARRIAGE.  155 

After  Caroline's  return  to  Hamburg  with  lier 
Imsband  and  children,  the  weeks  she  had  spent  with 
her  daughter  were  a  source  of  grateful  remem- 
brance. "  Since  I  have  seen  3^ou  in  your  own 
house,"  she  writes,  "I  have  lost  the  feeling  of  en- 
tu'e  separation,  and  really  live  with,  you  again ;  and 
if  your  heart  yearns  after  me  you  will  often  find  me. 
The  happy  remembrance  of  the  days  I  have  spent 
with  you  so  lately  prevail  even  over  the  pain  of  sep- 
aration." 

A  year  of  trouble  and  disquiet  awaited  Caroline 
on  her  return  from  Gotha.  She  had  found  her  sec- 
ond son,  Clement,  seriously  ill,  and  it  was  many 
months  before  her  anxiety  on  his  account  was  in 
any  degree  abated.  To  her  eldest  son,  Matthias, 
who  was  passing  the  hoHdays  at  Gotha,  she  wrote 
at  this  time  :  "  Gaze,  not  to  satiety,  but  till  you  are 
hungry,  on  the  beauties  of  nature ;  salute  the  rocks 
at  Schwarzburg,  and  go  before  soon  to  the  Tripp- 
stein,  when  the  sun  shines  aslant  through  the  firs, 
and  reflect  that  your  father  and  I  have  also  been 
there,  have  thanked  God,  and  rejoiced.  In  all  my 
present  sorrow,  the  remembrance  of  that  sweet  spot 
can  cheer  and  solace  me.  In  such  a  place  one  can 
rise  higher,  at  least  more  easily,  than  in  one's  own 
room.     As  for  the  hours  of  sore  and  burning  trial, 


156        CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

wlio  knows  and  who  can  reckon  the  benefit  we  de- 
rive from  them?  They  are  not  appointed  in  vain." 
On  the  14th  of  August,  in  the  midst  of  her  anx- 
iety for  her  sick  son,  the  news  of  the  birth  of  her 
first  grandchild  reached  her,  and  Caroline  wrote : 
"  Oh  that  I  had  a  thousand  tongues  and  a  thousand 
voices  that  might  strive  together  in  praising  God 
for  what  he  has  done  for  you  !  May  God  himself 
help  you  to  thank  him  that  he  has  heard  my  prayer. 
I  have  always  the  feeling  that  we  can  pray  fervently 
much  longer  than  we  can  praise;  so  that  our  thanks- 
givings are  all  too  short  compared  with  our  suppli- 
cations. If  I  could  escape  from  the  anxiety  and 
sorrow  which  surround  me,  I  should  be  still  nearer 
to  you ;  but  my  heart  is  divided  between  joy  and 
sadness,  and  a  divided  heart  brings  labor  and  un- 
rest. You  will  be  astonished  to  find  in  how  many 
new  and  pleasurable  aspects  the  child  will  appear 
to  you,  if  God  grant  his  blessing;  and  this  he  cer- 
tainly never  denies  to  those  who  honestly  seek  it. 
Pray  then  that  God  may  send  his  angel  to  guide 
your  little  one  through  the  joys  and  sorrows  of  life, 
and  to  be  very  near  him  in  time  of  trial  and  the 
hour  of  death." 


XVI. 


MARRIAGE    OF  THE    SECOND   DAUGHTER. 

/CAKCELY  was  Caroline's  anxiety  for 
^^'^    her  invalid  son  removed,  when  she  was 
again  agitated  by  a  proposal  for  the 
hand  of  her  second  daughter  Louisa, 
who  had  remained  in  Gotha  with  her  sister. 
The    young    suitor  Agiicola,   was  scarcely 
known  to  her,  and  the  decision  was  difficult. 

"How  could  we  commit  so  great  a  charge," 
wrote  Caroline,  "  to  one  whom  we  know  not  ?  It  is 
always  a  trial  to  give  up  a  beloved  child  to  any  one, 
and  we  are  now  called  to  do  it  to  a  stranger,  I  know 
not  where  to  find  counsel  or  help;  it  seems  to  me 
the  greatest  trial  of  my  life." 

The  confidence  manifested  by  the  daughter  in- 
duced the  parents  to  leave  the  decision  to  her 
alone;  and  when  Agricola  became  known  to  them 
through  his  letters,  all  anxiety  vanished. 


158        CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

In  the  middle  of  November,  1819,  Louisa  re- 
turned home  for  the  winter.  "We  are  anticipating," 
wrote  Carohne,  "  a  right  pleasant  winter  with  our 
dear  happy  bride." 

The  anticipation  was  realized.  The  invalid  son 
meanwhile  had  made  such  progress,  he  was  able 
to  be  removed  to  Wandsbeck  for  some  months  for 
change  of  air.  Caroline's  letters  are  filled  with  joy 
and  thankfulness,  though  the  present  was  some- 
times overcast  by  the  prospect  of  parting,  not  only 
with  her  daughter,  but  also  with  her  eldest  son  who 
was  to  enter  the  University  at  Easter. 

"It  often  distresses  me  greatly,"  she  wrote, 
"  that  my  young  Louise  is  so  early  called  upon  to 
play  an  independent  part,  and  to  do  without  me; 
still  I  have  firm  confidence  in  her  happiness. 
Young  people  who  are  so  sincerely  attached,  and 
who  express  their  affection  so  simply  and  naturally 
as  these  two,  are  doubtless  sound  at  heart." 

"  The  welcome  New  Year,"  she  wrote  in  the  end 
of  December,  1819,  "lies  heavily  on  my  heart, 
since  it  is  to  separate  me  from  two  of  my  beloved 
children.  I  know  that  I  ought  not  to  be  so,  yet  I 
am  quite  troubled  and  oppressed.  Eejoice  in  your 
sweet  infant;  the  joy  will  indeed  be  of  a  nobler 
kind  when  the  fondling  is  over,  but  never  vvish  a 


SECOND  DAUGHTEK'S  MAEEIAGE.    159 

Jay  away.  Enjoy  that  blessed  season  of  matern'ty 
during  which  you  have  your  child  in  your  arms, 
and  it  cannot  do  without  you,  but  stretches  out  its 
little  arms  and  lovingly  embraces  you." 

"To-day,"  she  writes  again  soon  afterwards, 
"  Louisa's  trousseau  is  packed  up.  God  loveth  a 
cheerful  giver.  He  certainly  loves  Perthes,  then ; 
for  he  gives  almost  too  freely,  and  too  cheerfully, 
what  it  has  cost  him  so  much  to  gather.  Life  is 
very  serious  to  me  now;  the  past  and  the  future 
stir  my  soul,  but  my  constant  comfort  is  the  lively 
and  steadfast  feeling  that  God  guides  and  leads  us 
only  for  our  good ;  only  we  should  not  invade  his 
office  and  cater  for  ourselves ;  but  this  I  have  never 
consciously  done,  at  least  never  desired  to  do." 

At  the  beginning  of  April,  1820,  both  children 
left  the  parental  roof,  the  son  for  the  university, 
and  a  week  later  the  young  couple,  who  had  been 
married  on  the  12th  of  April,  for  Gotha,  accompa- 
nied by  Perthes  and  his  son  Clement. 

"I  could  not  write  yesterdaj^,'^  says  Caroline; 
"  the  tumult  in  my  soul  was  so  great  that  I  could 
not  command  my  feelings  sufficient] j^  Dear  Agnes, 
what  a  powerful  thing  is  a  mother's  heart.  Yes,  I 
believe  that  the  love  of  parents  is  stronger  than  the 
love  of   children;  what  wishes,  hopes,    fears   and 


160        CHEIST  IN  A  GEEMAN  HOME. 

anxieties  stir  within  me !  A  steadfast  feeling  of  the 
presence  of  God  supported  me  at  the  parting,  and 
lightened  that  sad  hour;  and  while  my  heart  is  sor- 
sowful,  I  know  and  feel  that  all  is  right,  and  that 
we  have  much  cause  for  thankfulness.  "What  good 
would  the  outward  presence  of  my  children  do  me 
if  their  hearts  were  not  with  me  ?  If  here  below  we 
must  part  and  give  up,  it  is  only  that  we  may  learn 
to  submit  our  wills,  and  set  forward  on  the  road  to 
our  proper  home." 

Perthes  had  passed  some  weeks  in  Leipzic,  and 
on  his  return  had  quite  unexpectedly  brought  his 
eldest  daughter  and  little  grandchild  from  Gotha, 
with  him.  "As  soon  as  I  heard  the  post-horn," 
wrote  Caroline,  "I  flew  to  the  door,  and  when  it 
was  opened  Perthes  put  the  Utile  prattling,  healthy 
child  into  my  arms ;  my  Agnes  was  also  there,  and 
it  was  a  joyful  hour  indeed.  For  a  long  time  I  could 
not  compose  myseK,  and  forgot  that  Perthes  was 
there  too,  which  afterwards  vexed  me  very  much." 

"  You  may  imagine,"  she  writes  a  few  days  later, 
"  how  happy  I  am  with  my  child  and  grandchild. 
I  have  not  yet  settled  down  into  quiet  enjoyment, 
my  delight  is  so  tumultuous.  God  be  praised  for 
awarding  me  so  much."  After  a  stay  of  five  weeks 
Agnes  returned  home  with  her  husband. 


SECOND   DAUGHTER'S   MARRIAGE.   161 

Caroline  had  now  three  absent  children,  each  of 
whom  expected  letters  from  her  regularly,  and  they 
were  seldom  disappointed.  "  That  you  are  so  hap- 
py and  contented  with  your  Agricola,"  she  writes 
to  Louisa,  "  is  only  what  I  expected,  and  I  hope 
better  and  greater  things  still  for  you,  for  these  are 
only  gilded  weeks  which,  however,  I  do  not  grudge 
you.  But  it  requires  many  a  serious  hour,  and 
many  an  earnest  wish  with  and  for  each  other,  before 
real  happiness  and  confidence  are  established. 
Genuine  affection  is  the  way  to  this  end;  perfect 
openness  towards  each  other  at  all  times,  and  in  all 
things,  is  also  a  great  help.  Strive  to  have  com- 
mon objects  of  pursuit,  and  to  support  each  other 
when  either  seems  ready  to  faint,  and  let  your  first 
aim  be  to  draw  nearer  to  God,  and  to  assist  each 
other  in  becoming  more  like  him.  Do  not  be  dis- 
turbed by  occasional  difference  of  opinion  with  re- 
gard to  the  highest  things;  only  be  true  to  each 
other  and  seek  only  the  truth;  you  will  thus, 
though  by  devious  paths,  be  sure  to  meet  again.  I 
Imow  that  I  have  always  been  in  earnest,  and  that  I 
have  often  been  in  difficulties,  but  I  also  know  that 
I  have,  at  last,  always  reached  the  same  goal  with 
my  beloved  husband,  the  how  and  when  do  not  con- 
cern others,  and  no  one  has  any  right  to  inquire." 

Chiiat  iu  Ger.  Home.'  21l 


162        CHRIST  IN  A  GEBMAN  HOME. 

"  You  can  well  believe,"  wrote  Caroline  soon  af- 
terwards, "  that  I  enjoy  nothing  more  truly  than 
what  you  tell  me  of  your  happy  affection.  But  the 
human  heart  is  a  strange  thing.  When  you  wrote 
lately  that  you  could  not  understand  how  you 
could  have  hitherto  been  happy  without  your  Agri- 
cola,  I  feel  as  if  you  had  done  me  an  injury.  I  am 
at  every  moment  conscious  of  loving  you  with  my 
whole  soul,  of  hoping  and  wishing  for  you,  and  of 
doing  you  aU  the  good  I  can ;  more  than  this  I  can- 
not do,  neither  can  your  beloved  husband;  why, 
then,  should  you  not  have  been  happy  with  me  ? 
Can  you  tell  me  ?  Agricola  has  loved  you  for  one 
year,  while  I  have  loved  you  for  eighteen,  and  with 
all  my  heart.  Is  not  this,  then,  very  wrong  of  you, 
and  can  you  say  that  it  is  not  wrong  ?  I  know  not 
what  to  reply  except  that  it  was  just  so  with  me 
when  I  was  married,  and  that  I  thank  God  that  you 
now  cause  me  the  same  grief  which  I  then  caused 
my  parents." 

Hours  of  homesickness  were  not  wanting  to  the 
absent  daughter.  "You  cannot  wish  yourself  by 
my  side,"  wrote  her  mother,  "  so  much  as  I  wish 
myself  by  yours.  But  remember  one  thing,  would 
T  not  often  be  in  the  way  when  Agricola  comes 
home?     Can  you  deny  this?     I  see  you  blushing; 


SECOND  DAUGHTEK'S  MAREIAGE.    163 

but  do  not  blush,  and  do  not  vex  yourself  about  it, 
my  dear  Louisa.  I  am  contented,  and  can  thank 
God  that  I  am  now  only  secondary  with  you,  while 
I  love  you  as  well  as  if  I  had  the  first  place  in  your 
heart.  That  you  find  it  hard  to  bear  the  loneliness, 
and  the  distance  from  us,  especially  when  Agricola 
is  not  with  you,  I  can  very  well  understand.  I,  my- 
self, when  the  children  are  gone  out  for  half  a  holi- 
day, am  as  dull  and  stupid  as  an  owl  by  daylight, 
but  one  must  not  yield  to  this,  which  happens  more 
or  less  to  all  young  wives.  The  best  relief  is  work, 
engaged  in  with  interest  and  diligence.  Work, 
then,  constantly  and  diligently,  at  something  or 
other,  for  idleness  is  the  devil's  snare  for  small  and 
great,  says  your  grandfather,  and  he  says  true.  I 
do  not  mean  that  there  is  anything  wrong  in  your 
longing  after  us  when  Agricola  is  absent,  my  own 
dear  child,  only  you  must  strive  to  retain  your 
composure ;  and  yet,  if  you  should  be  overcome  by 
filial  yearning,  Agricola  will  not  be  angry  with  you. 
You  are  quite  right  to  tell  him  everything  that  you 
think  and  feel  at  all  times.  Where  truth  and  affec- 
tion abide,  joy  and  happiness  are  not  long  absent." 
And  again:  "Is  it  not  true  that  the  life  of  a 
housekeeper  is  more  stirring  than  that  of  a  young 
girl  at  home  ?     It  is'  quite  right  you  should  take 


164        CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

pleasure  in  your  little  household  affairs,  and  enjoy 
your  clean,  pretty  house ;  and  I  can  see  you  after- 
noons, looking  and  listening  for  your  husband  when 
you  expect  him  from  the  courts.  How  gladly  would 
I  sometimes  be  behind  the  door  when  he  comes  in ! 
Fancy  me  on  Saturdays  looking  through  your 
rooms,  your  presses  and  your  shelves,  and  praising 
you  when  all  is  neat  and  in  order." 

And  in  another  letter :  "  I  delight  to  find  that 
you  take  pleasure  in  all  the  little  matters  of  your 
housekeeping;  great  events  do  not  come  under  our 
management,  but  if  we  are  observant  and  watchful, 
we  find  our  appointed  work,  and  we  have  more 
need  to  pray  for  a  heart  to  enjoy  our  blessings, 
than  for  a  larger  share  of  them." 

"  Tou  are  quite  right  to  visit  your  neighbors  oc- 
casionally, my  dear  Louisa,  but  it  is  still  better  that 
you  prefer  staying  at  home.  God  grant  jon  may 
ever  find  the  same  pleasure  in  your  pretty  room ! 
You  have  not  yet  got  into  the  proper  way  of  wri- 
ting; you  tell  me  only  of  things  in  general,  and 
great  events,  but,  my  dear  child,  I  want  to  know 
the  most  minute  particulars.  You  always  tell  me 
how  dearly  you  love  Agricola,  but  I  should  hke  to 
know  why  you  love  him.  We  understand  a  man's 
character  best  from  his  conduct  in  little  circum- 


SECOND  DAUGHTEK'S  MAERIAGE.  165 

stances  and  daily  life.  Don't  always  seek  for 
something  of  importance  to  write ;  you  are  writing 
for  my  motherly  heart,  to  which  everything  is  im- 
portant that  brings  you  more  vividly  before  me. 
Write,  then,  without  too  much  consideration  about 
trifles  and  anything  whatever ;  great  events  consti- 
tute the  life,  but  trifles  the  interest  of  a  correspond- 
ence. You  know  Agnes  fills  her  letters  with  cab- 
bages and  turnips,  and  so  gives  unspeakable  pleas- 
ure. Man,  here  below,  consists  of  two  parts,  and 
thus  petty  things,  not  paltry,  recollect,  are  part  of 
our  existence." 

Again :  "  I  am  sorry  that  you  tore  up  your  letter 
because  it  was  not  written  in  a  happy  mood ;  next 
time  send  it  me  just  as  it  is.  I  know  as  well  as 
you  do,  that  the  heart  is  not  always  in  the  same 
frame;  we  should,  indeed,  endeavor  to  be  at  all 
times  master  of  ourselves,  but  it  takes  a  good  many 
trials  before  we  attain  to  this;  and  I  remember 
how  many  uneasy  moods  and  moments  I  myself 
had  to  pass  through." 

When,  in  the  coui'se  of  time,  the  daughter  made 
that  discovery  which  every  young  wife  has  to  make 
for  herself,  that  even  in  her  new  position  the  ear- 
nestness of  life  is  not  wanting,  Caroline  wrote, 
"  Yes,  dear  child,  God's  gift  of  true  love  grows  and 


166         CHRIST  IN  A  GEBMAN  HOME. 

improves  under  all  circumstances,  and  althougli  we 
would  gladly  escape  the  sweat  of  tlie  brow,  we 
soon  see  that  it  is  necessary  and  a  part  of  our 
earthly  discipline.  All  men  have  felt  that  as  life 
brings  us  greater  happiness,  it  also  becomes  more 
earnest.  Thank  your  Agricola  with  all  your  heart 
for  sharing  his  cares  with  you,  rather  than  conceal- 
ing them  in  order  to  spare  you.  If  a  wife  cannot 
actually  remove,  she  can  often  lighten  care,  and 
sweet  and  bitter  should  be  shared  by  man  and  wife. 
I  might  indeed  desire  nothing  but  joy  and  happi- 
ness for  you,  but  I  do  not  at  all  despair  about  you. 
Men's  characters  differ  gi'eatly,  and  with  them 
God's  means  of  promoting  their  welfare.  Your 
father  and  I  had  many  struggles,  which  were  often 
very  painful ;  but  when  I  look  back,  I  see  clearly 
that  all  served  to  unite  us,  and  make  us  better  ac- 
quainted with  each  other,  and  that  is  a  result  which 
can  never  be  bought  too  dear. 

"You  are  quite  right,  dear  Louisa,  to  be  on 
your  guard  against  all  sources  of  irritation.  It  is 
great  and  noble  to  attain  to  a  state  of  mind  which 
does  not  allow  affection  to  be  saddened  or  inter- 
rupted by  the  trifles  of  daily  life.  A  strong  deter- 
mination against  this  must  be  rooted  in  the  heart ; 
but  I  have  learnt  from  good  old  Francis  de  Sales, 


SECOND  DAUGHTER'S  MARRIAGE.  167 

and  from  experience,  that  there  are  many  things 
which,  though  they  are  not  to  be  lightly  regarded, 
must  be  lightly  handled.  "We  must  not  oppose  an 
irritable  tendency  by  force,  otherwise  the  ii-ritation 
may  only  change  its  form.  To  oppose  one's  own 
irritability  with  greater  irritability  is  disturbing  to 
others,  and  may  embitter  our  own  hearts,  but  I  am 
not  at  all  anxious  about  you ;  you  never  had  a  fret- 
ful disposition,  and  a  loving  heart  is  proof  against 
it ;  but  you  cannot  have  recourse  to  any  one  who 
will  understand  you  so  well  as  I  do,  for  I  have  felt 
it  all  myself." 

In  November,  1820,  her  daughter  was  severely 
tried  by  the  illness  of  her  husband,  who  was  in 
great  danger  for  many  weeks  from  nervous  fever, 
and  had  a  very  slow  recovery.  "  Your  father  and 
I  think  of  you  day  and  night,"  wrote  Caroline  when 
the  crisis  was  over;  "we  feel  but  too  deeply  how 
painful  it  is  to  have  a  child  whom  we  cannot  soothe 
and  make  happy.  These  have  been  very  sad  days 
for  us ;  it  was  quite  a  new  thought  to  me  that  I 
might  have  my  own  dear  child  in  my  house  and  in 
my  arms,  and  yet  all  my  affection  could  neither 
satisfy  nor  comfort  her." 

Soon  afterwards  she  wrote  :  "  Let  us  first  thank 
God  for  having  preserved  your  Agricola,  and  given 


168        CHKIST  IN  A  GEEJMAN  HOME. 

you  trust  and  confidence  in  time  of  need,  and  then 
pray  for  his  future  recovery.  "We  need  neither  be 
ashamed  nor  vexed  that  we  are  always  ready  to 
ask;  God  knows  better  than  we  do  that  we  can  do 
nothing  without  him." 

When  the  invahd  was  beginning  to  recover  his 
strength,  she  wrote,  "  We  no  longer  feel  the  burden, 
we  only  remember  it,  and  now  rejoice  with  you  in 
the  coming  spring  and  the  warm  sunbeams.  Al- 
though the  springtime  of  youth  is  past  for  us,  not 
so,  thank  God,  the  eternal  spring  which  still  grows 
fresher  as  we  grow  older.  Let  your  heart  beat  in 
sympathy  with  the  renewed  springtime  of  nature, 
which  makes  us  young,  and  fresh,  and  gladsome, 
like  the  little  variegated  tom-tits  in  the  oak-tree 
beneath  my  window.  Ever  rejoice  in  the  spring 
and  in  life,  dear  Agricola,  and  be  thankful  that  you 
are  preserved  to  my  Louisa  and  tq  us  all." 


XVII. 


MATTHIAS  AT  THE   UNIVERSITY. 

HILE  tlie  correspondence  with  the  mar- 
^^  ried  daughters  devolved  mainly  on  the 


mother,  that  with  the  eldest  son,  Mat- 
thias, who  was  studying  theology  at 
the  University  of  Tubingen,  was  kept  up 
alike  by  both  parents.  The  doubts  and  dif- 
ficulties suggested  to  the  son  by  his  studies,  were 
submitted  to  the  father,  who  always  sympathized 
with  his  misgivings  and  inexperience.  "  I  have 
been  reading  over  many  of  your  letters  a  second 
time,"  he  once  wrote,  "and  am  more  and  more 
convinced  that  it  would  not  be  well  to  answer  your 
earnest  communications  in  detail  by  a  discussion  of 

your  views.     In  the  case  of  a  stirring,  energetic 

22 


170        CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

youtli  like  yourself,  montlis  are  more  fruitful  tlian 
years  to  an  older  man;  the  scales  are  moving  up 
and  down,  and  so  it  should  be.  One  thing  rectifies 
another  in  the  course  of  the  student's  own  hearty 
efforts,  which  God  always  blesses.  This  is  better 
for  you  than  listening  to  an  old  man's  experience, 
which  must  always  be  somewhat  strange,  even 
though  it  be  your  own  father's.  I  cannot  and  dare 
not  enter  into  the  subjects  which  you  mention.  It 
would  ill  become  the  man  whose  mind  is  matured 
by  age,  and  whose  intellectual  training  has  been  so 
different,  to  set  bounds  w^hicli  might  impede  the 
young  theologian  in  his  career ;  when  your  advan- 
cing age  brings  you  nearer  to  my  own,  we  shall 
readily  understand  one  another.  You  say,  'The 
God  of  the  many  does  not  satisfy  my  yearnings. 
I  want  one  to  whom  I  can  put  up  my  petitions  in 
the  hope  that  he  will  be  moved  by  my  humble  faith 
to  grant  me  health  and  strength.'  These  are  your 
own  words ;  keep  to  them,  my  dear  son." 

Other  letters  from  the  father  follow,  filled  with 
excellent  counsel,  in  one  of  which  he  says:  "My 
dear  son,  read  frequently  your  mother's  letters — be 
attracted  within  the  atmosphere  of  her  piety,  keep 
your  heart  pure,  that  it  may  never  be  a  stranger  to 
prayer;  then  may  you  investigate  freely,  for  prayer 


MATTHIAS  AT   THE  UNIVERSITY.     171 

and  earnest  study  will  help  you  to  overcome  in  the 
conflict  with  doubt." 

Caroline  considered  her  son's  determination  to 
pursue  the  study  of  theology  as  a  matter  of  primary 
importance.  "  Matthias,"  she  wrote,  "  has  handled 
a  hot  iron;  but,  if  he  grasp  it  rightly,  he  has 
achieved  a  great  matter  and  God  is  with  him." 
But  when  he  left  for  the  university,  her  sense  of  the 
earnestness  of  his  vocation  was  for  a  time  supplant- 
ed by  her  regret  at  separation  from  him.  "How 
painful  it  was  to  me,"  she  wrote  immediately  after- 
wards, "  to  part  with  Matthias,  and  send  him  into 
the  world,  without  being  able  to  commit  him  to  the 
guidance  of  any  human  heart  or  eye.  I  had  hard 
work  with  myself,  but  now  I  have  laid  down  my 
arms  and  am  at  peace." 

At  the  same  time  she  wrote  to  her  son.  "  My 
thoughts  of  you  are  disturbed  by  a  painful  feeling 
of  your  solitude  and  distance.  I  know  and  am 
persuaded  that  in  great  and  important  matters  you 
cleave  to  God,  and  can  do  without  us.  Still  there 
are  many  seasons  in  which  parental  love  and  sym- 
pathy are  a  source  of  great  happiness  and  comfort. 
This  I  myself  feel." 

"  Your  letter  has  just  come,"  she  writes  a  few 
days  later;  "I  am  filled  with  joy  and  thankfulness 


172        CHRIST  IN  xi  GEEMAN  HOME. 

to  God,  who  lias  so  wondrously  heard  and  blessed 
our  wishes  and  desires  in  placing  you  among  the 
truly  good.  But  you  know  not,  dear  Matthias,  how 
wholly  I  have  committed  you  to  God,  praying  that 
he  may  guide,  teach,  and  care  for  you  in  great  and 
little  things.  I  am  persuaded  that  you  are  in  his 
hands,  and  am  happier  and  more  reconciled  than  I 
could  have  thought  possible,  although  there  are 
moments  when  the  yearning  of  the  mother's  heart 
prevails  over  these  better  feelings.  We  have  also 
letters  from  Gotha  with  the  best  tidings.  I  do  not 
know  how  to  make  enough  of  the  happiness  which 
God  has  given  us  on  all  sides,  and  must  take  refuge 
in  the  hymn-book." 

Again  she  wrote :  "  When  I  am  sitting  alone  on 
the  sofa  in  the  parlor,  before  the  children  come 
down  in  the  morning,  and  your  father  has  just  gone 
to  business,  I  thank  God  and  pray  for  you  with  all 
my  heart,  and  look  at  your  portrait  which  you  gave 
me  last  Christmas.  It  brings  you  vividly  before 
me,  and  often  it  seems  as  if  you  saw  my  thoughts 
and  responded  to  them." 

"  Your  grandmother  at  Wandsbeck,  ^ill  rejoice 
to  see  that  people  love  your  grandfather,  and  you 
for  his  sake,"  wrote  Caroline  shortly  afterwards. 
"Indeed,   dear  Matthias,  how  many   advantages 


MATTHIAS  AT  THE  UNIVERSITY.     173 

you  enjoy  that  others  have  not !  God  will  expect 
more  from  you,  and  you  must  expect  more  from 
your  own  self,  on  this  very  account." 

In  several  other  letters  Caroline  urges  her  son 
to  realize  the  responsibilities  involved  in  his  choice 
of  a  calling.  "It  is  quite  clear  to  my  own  mind," 
she  writes,  "  that  there  are  many  more  inquirers  for 
counsel  and  encouragement,  than  there  were  ten  or 
fifteen  years  ago,  and  it  is  a  great  privilege  to  guide 
such ;  but  it  is  no  easy  task.  We  get  over  many 
difficulties  in  our  own  minds,  because  the  solution 
does  not  require  to  be  put  into  words,  which  must, 
however,  be  used  when  we  help  another." 

In  another  letter  she  writes :  "  I  was  well  aware, 
while  you  were  still  with  us,  that  the  time  would 
come  when  you  would  see  many  things,  both  within 
and  without,  in  a  different  Hght  from  us ;  but  I  did 
not  say  this,  because  I  hoped  and  beheved  that  you 
were  earnest  and  truth-loving,  and  because  I  trust- 
ed that  God  would  give  you  right  views  and  opin- 
ions at  the  right  time.  Moreover,  I  know  that  man 
can  impart  but  little  to  his  fellow-man ;  each  must 
seek  and  find  for  himself.  I  can  say  with  truth, 
that  I  have  been  for  many  years  in  trouble  and  per- 
plexity, from  which  I  am  not  even  now  free.  I  have 
found  that  it  is  better  not  to  think  of  one's  self  so 


174        CHEIST  IN  A  GEEMAN  HOME. 

much,  but  rather  to  think  more  of  God,  and  to  long 
earnestly  after  him ;  and  if  we  have  fallen  to  rise 
at  once  and  go  on,  trusting  in  God;  thus  we  are 
continually  advancing  by  God's  grace,  towards  a 
peaceful  and  blessed  end.  The  Princess  Gallitziu 
once  said  to  me  fi'om  her  inmost  soul,  and  with  a 
deep  sense  of  her  insufficiency,  '  But  I  will  still  wilU 
This  word  often  recurs  to  me,  and  cheers  me  when 
I  am  cast  down.  "We  often  become  more  free  and 
happy  when  we  look  at  ourselves  as  a  whole,  rather 
than  in  detail.  If  we  keep  all  the  good  thoughts 
that  have  occurred  to  our  minds  continually  pres- 
ent, we  shall  easily  be  led  to  think  more  highly  of 
ourselves  than  we  ought,  and  so  shall  in  reality 
retrograde." 

*'  I  am  not  distressed,"  she  wrote  at  another  time, 
"  that  you  find  yourself  unable  to  pray  with  as  much 
faith  and  confidence  as  you  desire,  for  we  are  at 
best  but  as  reeds  moved  to  and  fro  by  the  wind.  If 
we  only  yearn  for  living  faith,  God  will  not  fail  to 
help  us  on,  and  all  doubts  and  discouragements  will 
eventually  cease ;  but  it  is  almost  too  much  to  ex- 
pect that  you  should  be  as  yet  near  to  this  happy 
consummation.  Socrates  thought  that  inward  peace 
was  not  to  be  attained  until  a  man  had  reached  his 
fortieth  year,  and  Confucius  has  placed  the  goal 


MATTHIAS  AT  THE  UNIVERSITY.     175 

still  farther  forward ;  but  I  do  wrong  in  referring  to 
Socrates  and  Confucius  when  we  have  Christ;  con- 
sider it  then  as  unsaid.  I  always  take  comfort 
from  that  man  in  the  gospel  to  whom  our  Lord 
Christ  said  that  he  must  believe  before  he  could 
be  helped ;  and  who  replied,  *  Lord,  I  belieye,  help 
thou  mine  unbelief.'  This  is  all  we  can  do,  and 
when  we  can  do  nothing,  God  is  ever  ready  to  aid ; 
besides,  there  may  be  much  unrest  and  unbelief  in 
the  head  while  the  heart  holds  firmly  by  its  an- 
chor— '  God  is  love,  and  he  that  dwelleth  in  love 
dwelleth  in  God.'  I  know  of  nothing  more  certain, 
imperfect  as  our  love  must  needs  be  here  below." 

Great  as  was  the  importance  of  this  anchor  of 
the  heart  to  Caroline,  she  was  far  from  wishing  to 
make  it  an  excuse  for  indolent  security.  "Dear 
Matthias,"  she  once  wrote,  "accustom  yourself  to 
laborious  study.  It  is  not  mere  ignorance,  but  the 
want  of  power  of  application,  which  is  found  to 
have  such  evil  and  bitter  consequences.  Tell  me, 
then,  whether  you  are  bravely  diligent.  I  wish  and 
hope  it  may  be  so ;  and  I  should  like  to  know  how 
you  arrange  your  studies.  I  do  not  believe  it  is 
possible  for  a  young  man,  however  earnest  and  well 
intentioned,  always  to  see  the  why  and  wherefore  of 
his  studies.    You  would  relieve  me  from  a  great 


176        CHRIST  IN  A  GEEMAN  HOME. 

anxiety  if  you  would  commit  yours  to  the  direction 
of  some  sensible,  learned  and  older  man,  who  might 
take  your  father's  place,  and  direct  your  scientific 
career.  Without  pretending  to  understantl  more,  I 
know  that  experience  is  the  best  guide.  Perhaps, 
dear  Matthias,  you  will  laugh  at  this  counsel ;  you 
are  quite  w^elcome;  only  consider  it,  and  tell  me 
what  you  think  of  it.  I  would  so  gladly  know  you 
are  on  the  straightest  road  even  to  human  learn- 
ing." 

"You  may  imagine,"  wrote  Caroline,  in  trans- 
mitting some  controversial  pamphlets,  "  the  ^^ros  and 
contras  that  these  have  occasioned.  It  is  very  sad 
and  grievous  that  the  holiest  and  brightest  truths  of 
religion  should  be  treated  as  mere  topics  of  con- 
versation and  amusement — and  yet  it  has  this  good, 
that  it  leads  men  to  ask  themselves  on  which  side 
they  are.  I  believe  with  you  that,  in  order  to  deal 
honestly  with  your  future  congregation  and  your 
own  understanding,  you  must  diligently  investigate, 
that  you  may  come  to  the  steadfast  knowledge  and 
the  clear  consciousness,  that  in  Christ  Jesus  are 
hidden  all  the  treasures  of  wisdom ;  but  I  also  trust 
in  God  that  if  you  wrestle  and  strive  earnestly,  he 
will  give  you  a  yearning  and  a  steadfast  faith,  by 
which  he  will  carry  on  (he  work  of  grace  in  your 


MATTHIAS  AT  THE  UNIYEESITY.     177 

heart,  even  when  your  understanding  labors  under 
perplexity." 

In  answer  to  a  letter  in  which  her  son  told  her 
of  the  many  valuable  friends  whom  he  had  found 
at  the  university,  Caroline  replied :  "  I  was  rejoiced 
to  receive  your  last  letter,  and  although  I  make  al- 
lowance for  youthful  enthusiasm,  and  am  well  aware 
that  your  best  moments  are  not  lasting,  yet  I  see 
that  all  your  hopes  and  efforts  are  in  the  right  di- 
rection, and  we  are  thankful  that  you  have  joined 
such  a  circle.  Tell  me  how  you  generally  spend 
the  Sabbath,  and  whether  you  have  found  a  preach- 
er who  proclaims  the  truth  without  many  human 
additions,  and  with  the  inward  confidence  that  he 
has  the  same  interest  as  his  hearers  in  what  he 
says.  I  hope  you  are  pursuing  the  study  of  logic 
right  earnestly;  many  feel  the  want  of  it.  Last 
Sunday  I  heard  a  sermon  of  much  abihty,  and  con- 
taining much  that  was  good  in  detail,  but  the  whole 
was  so  confused  that  it  was  almost  impossible  to 
f oUow  it ;  thought  and  learning  are,  in  general,  ne- 
cessary before  we  can  teach  others.  I  thank  God 
that  you  are  committed  to  teachers  who  unite  in 
themselves  learning  and  respect  for  the  faith." 

But  it  was  not  only  in  the  studies  and  perplexi- 
ties of  her  son  that  Caroline  was  interested.    "  Your 

Oliiist  In  Oer.  Home.  ^O 


178        CHRIST  IN  A  GEEMAN  HOME. 

external  life  is  somewhat  monotonous,  but  you  must 
vary  it  a  little,  and  I  think  you  should  do  so  as  far 
as  is  consistent  with  order  and  regularity."  "You 
have  given  us  great  pleasure  by  the  narrative  of 
your  journey,"  she  wrote,  when  Matthias  had 
sought  recreation  for  a  time  in  SwitzerLand ;  "  open 
your  eyes  wide,  look  at  everything,  so  that  the  im- 
pressions whic]:i  are  to  be  the  materials  of  thought 
when  you  are  set  fast  in  the  yoke,  may  be  perma- 
nent. If  you  keep  your  eyes  and  your  heart  stead- 
fastly fixed  on  the  goal,  the  yoke  will  be  softer  and 
lighter;  this  your  father  finds,  for  God  does  not 
send  him  empty  away.  He  also  has  his  circle  of 
influence  where  God  blesses  his  efforts;  of  this  I 
am  certain." 

"Your  letter  from  Zurich  has  just  come,  and 
tells  us  that  you  are  v»'ell,  and  in  dear  Switzerland, 
where  my  heart  has  so  long  yearned  to  be.  I  have 
got  the  map  out,  and  followed  you  from  place  to 
place,  have  calculated  distances,  and  seen  every- 
thing with  you  as  far  as  possible.  No  one  can 
sympathize  with  you  more  than  I  do,  in  the  enjoy- 
ments of  the  works  of  God;  only,  they  must  lead 
you  into  the  depth  of  your  own  heart  and  to 
prayer." 

"  It  is  long  since  you  have  written  about  your- 


MATTHIAS  AT  THE  UNIVERSITY.     179 

self,"  sajs  the  mother  in  one  of  her  letters,  "  and 
of  your  daily  life  at  home  and  abroad,  so  that  I  can 
see  exactly  what  you  are  about.  If  such  a  letter  is 
not  already  on  the  way,  sit  down  at  once  and  tell 
me,  circumstantially,  whether  you  are  in  good  spir- 
its, what  you  are  at  work  upon,  and  whether  you 
are  making  progress ;  also  about  your  friends,  your 
amusements,  your  chairs  and  tables,  coats  and 
shoes,  in  short,  about  all  that  appertains  to  the 
nourishment  and  necessities  of  this  mortal  life;  I 
am  longing  for  such  tidings." 

Shortly  after  this  she  writes :  "  Make  a  point  of 
keeping  your  room  clean  and  ne?ct,  and  of  opening 
the  windows  every  day ;  and  then,  dear  Matthias,  I 
entreat  you,  out  of  love  to  me,  dress  yourself  on 
first  rising,  and  do  n't  sit  for  hours  half-dressed,  and 
with  shoes  down  at  the  heels.  I  dislike  it  very 
much ;  dress  yourself  for  the  day,  and  you  will  feel 
fresh  and  cheerful,  and  ready  for  anything  that  may 
come." 

Bur  while  Caroline  fully  entered  into  the  life  of 
her  son,  she  kept  up  his  interest  in  home  by  com- 
municating all  those  trifling  events  which  make  up 
domestic  life.  Anniversaries  were  especially  no- 
ticed. Thus  on  the  2d  of  August,  1820,  the  anni- 
versary of  her  wedding-day,  Caroline  wrote :  "  We 


180        CHEIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

were  sitting  at  the  breakfast-table,  almost  buried  in 
garlands,  as  you  have  seen  us — ^joy  and  pleasure  in 
all  hearts  and  eyes— when  your  letter  and  congrat- 
ulatory verses  were  brought  us.  "We  read,  rejoiced, 
and  thanked  God.  I  was  especially  affected  by 
your  wedding-garland,  for  if  you  had  not  been  my 
own  very  child,  you  would  not  have  sent  it.  I  have 
wept  my  fill,  but  rather  from  joy  than  sorrow.  My 
whole  heart  thanks  you  for  your  affection,  and  I 
pray  to  God  that  he  may  strengthen  and  uphold 
your  purpose,  and  enable  you  to  act  upon  it.  We 
have  need  to  will,  and  will  afresh  every  minute,  for 
thus  we  generally  bring  something  to  good  effect, 
often  unconsciously  indeed;  but  what  is  uncon- 
scious is  often  best.  At  least  there  is  nothing  that 
I  fear  so  much  as  self-satisfaction ;  for  the  feeling 
of  need,  and  of  insufficiency,  and  tlie  reaching  after 
God's  mercy,  are  our  best  safeguards  here  below, 
because  this  is  our  real  and  natural  condition. 
That  God  may  help  you,  and  all  of  us,  my  dear 
Matthias,  is  my  constant  prayer." 

"  The  18th  of  October,"  she  writes  on  another 
occasion,  "  the  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Leipzic 
was  right  joyfully  commemorated.  Early  in  the 
morning  all  the  bells  were  ringing,  all  the  churches 
were  full,    and  crowds  waited  without;   at   noon 


MATTHIAS  AT  THE  UIsIVEKSITY.     181 

the  whole  town-guard  turned  out.  The  streets 
were  so  full  of  holiday-folks,  walking,  driving  and 
riding,  that  I  could  not  hear  myself  speak;  in  the 
evening  there  were  fireworks  in  every  direction.  I 
sat  at  home  and  thought;  the  recollection  of  that 
great  epoch  is  engraven  in  my  heart ;  I  have  lived 
those  iron  months  again  with  all  their  joys  and  sor- 
rows and  anxieties;  you  will  believe  that  my  eyes 
overflowed,  and  I  thanked  God  as  well  as  I  could, 
though  not  so  fervently  as  I  wished,  for  all  his 
goodness.  If  I  could  but  once  keep  this  day  in  the 
Aschan  cellar,  gratitude  would  rise  spontaneously 
and  overpower  all  other  thoughts.  That  cellar  I 
shall  remember  as  long  as  I  Hve ;  how  perplexed  I 
often  v/as  when  I  left  you  all  for  a  quarter  of  an 
hour,  to  be  alone,  and  to  give  free  course  to  my 
tears.  I  am  really  angry  with  all  who  on  such  a 
day  can  allow  themselves  to  be  dissatisfied  with 
things  as  they  are.  On  other  days  people  may  be 
angry  and  demand  reforms,  but  on  the  18th  of  Oc- 
tober we  ought  to  rejoice  and  be  glad  in  the  deliv- 
erance which  God  wrought  for  us.  And  when  I 
ihink  of  ourselves  in  particular,  what  overflowing 
pleasures  do  I  see ;  only  my  darling,  blessed  Ber- 
nard's place  is  empty.  AYe  miss  him,  and  shall 
miss  him  till  we  go  to  him." 


182        CHKIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

In  another  letter  she  says :  "  All  my  anniversa- 
ries, now  that  we  are  so  dispersed,  are  spoilt,  and 
no  longer  yield  the  same  enjoyment,  for  it  takes 
much  thought  to  bring  you  all  before  me  now. 
Still,  so  long  as  nothing  comes  between  you  and  my 
longing  after  you,  I  shall  rejoice." 

"  The  empty  places  at  the  Christmas-table,"  she 
writes,  "  did  indeed  mar  my  joy,  but  not  my  grati- 
tude to  God  for  you,  my  dear  absent  children,  and 
for  the  persuasion  that  you  have  set  out  on  the 
good  and  right  way.  Though  I  cannot  see  you,  my 
heart  is  glad  in  its  affection,  and  especially  on  dear 
Christmas-eve.  Still  it  was  a  quiet  festival,  and 
less  happy  than  usual,  on  account  of  our  anxiety 
for  Agricola." 

The  16th  of  January  was  Matthias'  birthday, 
and  his  mother  wrote:  "How  I  long  to  see  you 
face  to  face,  and  to  hold  you  in  my  arms,  tall  as 
you  may  be,  for  maternal  love  is  not  appalled  by 
height,  and  the  child  is  a  child  still  though  he  may 
be  a  man.  You,  my  dear  old  Matthias,  I  would  so 
gladly  have  with  us ;  keep  well,  and  enter  on  your 
one-and-twentieth  year  with  joy  and  energy.  May 
God  be  with  you  and  preserve  you,  and  grant  all 
my  wishes  for  you,  and  bless  you  for  evermore,  as 
I  believe  he  will.     I  send  you  the  birthday  wish 


MATTHIAS  AT  THE  UNIVERSITY.     183 

and  prayer,  with  wliicli  I  this  morning  awoke,  that 
you  may  make  it  your  own.  *  O  thou  Eternal  Light 
and  Strong  Eock,  let  the  light  of  thy  life-giving 
word  shine  upon  him,  and  teach  him  to  know  thee 
aright,  and  to  call  thee  Father  with  his  whole  heart. 
Teach  him  that  Christ  is  our  Lord  and  Master,  and 
that  there  is  none  other  besides,  that  he  may  seek 
thee  only,  and  trust  in  thee  with  all  his  strength,* 
My  beloved  child,  may  God  grant  it." 


-ot 


.|^ 


XVIII. 


THE  LAST  DAYS  OF  CAROLINE  PERTHES. 


r^HE  physical  sufferings  to  wliich  Caroline 
^  had  been  subject  ever  since  the  trying 


scenes  of  1813,  had  been  greatly  ag- 
gravated by  the  cares  and  anxieties  of 
the  last  summer.  The  irritability  of  the 
nervous  system,  and  the  heart  disease,  had  now 
reached  an  alarming  height,  but  her  serenity  of 
mind  was  undisturbed;  her  Christian  faith  and 
hope  waxed  even  brighter  and  stronger  as  the  body 
approached  its  last  resting-place.  "I  have  lately 
had  feelings,  thoughts,  and  views,  formerly  quite  un- 
known to  me,  with  reference  to  our  earthly  Hfe  and 
our  appointed  work  therein,  and  in  connection  with 
these  a  greater  serenity."  This  she  wrote  in  the 
spring  of  1820. 

And  again,  about  the  same  time,  "  How  differ- 


LAST  DAYS  OF  CAKOLINE  PERTHES.  185 

ently  I  regard  my  position,  now  that  I  am  con- 
sciously going  down  hill,  and  find  myseK  so  much 
nearer  the  end  than  the  beginning  of  Hfe.  If  I  am 
not  self-deceived  when  I  examine  myseK  as  in  the 
sight  of  God,  I  find  an  increase  of  peace  and  assu- 
}'ance,  and  there  are  seasons  when  I  am  even  confi- 
dent. God  grant  that  the  peace  and  confidence 
may  be  abiding,  and  not  a  mere  play  of  fancy! 
God  will  surely  help  me.  The  desire  of  my  heart 
is  for  peace  and  submission  to  his  will,  but  I  cannot 
always  master  the  desire  to  live  here  on  earth.  I 
have  still  much  enjoyment  and  happiness  in  life, 
and  I  have  my  dear  Perthes.  It  refreshes  my  spirit, 
dear  Agnes,  to  hear,  that  like  me,  you  ai'e  seeking 
and  finding  God  in  many  things  that  appear  insig- 
nificant, but  that  do  really  gently  stir  and  rejoice 
our  hearts  all  the  day  long.  I  cannot  say  much 
about  them,  but  I  can  thank  God  and  long  for 
more.  Let  us  only  be  faithful  and  earnest  in  little 
things,  and  perhaps  in  heaven  great  things  may  be 
committed  to  us." 

An  anxious,  doubting  state  of  mind,  unknown  to 
herself,  she  was  not  inclined  to  regard  favorably  in 

others.     "  N ,"  she  writes,  "  has  left  us ;  he  has 

failed  to  discern  much  that  is  good  here,  and  also 
much  that  is  good  in  the  circle  of  his  own  friends, 

24 


186        CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

I  fancy,  because,  here  as  elsewhere,  externals  throw 
a  veil  over  the  inner  man.  He  is  certainly  a  pious 
man,  but  his  misfortune  is,  that,  for  the  most  part, 
he  has  an  eye  only  for  what  he  dislikes  in  the  hves 
of  Christians." 

In  another  letter  she  says :  "  "We  are  anxiously 
looking  for  a  man  of  truth  and  earnestness  to  pre- 
pare Matilda  for  confirmation,  and,  as  yet,  without 

success.    PI 's  sister  has  gone  to  Kiel  for  a  year 

and  a  half  that  her  daughter  may  enjoy  the  benefit 
of  Harm's  instructions.  Gladly  as  I  would  avail 
myself  of  his  teaching  for  Matilda,  I  could  never 
have  taken  such  a  step,  because  it  seems  to  me  to 
involve  a  distrust  of  the  Divine  power  and  influ- 
ence ;  and  besides  how  could  one  look  other  chil- 
dren in  the  face,  whose  parents  were  unable  to  do 
so  much  for  them  ?" 

"  Come  to  my  arms,"  she  wrote  to  a  deeply  de- 
jected friend,  "  and  pour  out  your  heart  with  all  its 
hopes  and  fears,  its  anxieties  and  sadness.  I  un- 
derstand you,  and  have  not  forgotten  my  own 
griefs,  but  I  beUeve  that  God  will  look  upon  us  for 
good,  if  even  one  groan  escapes  from  our  breasts. 
Only  we  must  be  willing  at  every  moment  to  take 
up  our  burden  and  to  bear  what  God  sends ;  and 
that  he  often  sends  heaviness  no  one  will  deny.     I 


LAST  DAYS  OF  CAEOLINE  PERTHES.  187 

cannot  say  that  I  have  never  murmured,  but  I  have 
often  asked  God  with  tears  why  he  has  weighed 
me  down ;  and  then  I  have  been  strengthened  by 
the  thought  that  it  is  all  his  doing,  and  cannot  be 
without  reason ;  that  he  knows  our  anxiety  and  can- 
not be  offended  by  it." 

To  her  eldest  daughter  she  says:  "That  you 
are  a  happy  woman  I  know,  and  I  desire  with  all 
my  heart  that  you  may  continue  so;  nor  do  I  doubt 
it.  Perplexed  you  may  be,  but  not  unhappy ;  for 
one  who  strives  from  the  heart  to  be  resigned  to 
the  will  of  God,  under  all  circumstances,  can  never 
be  unhappy." 

On  the  day  preceding  the  last  anniversary  of 
her  betrothal,  which  she  survived,  she  wrote,  "  Tc^- 
morrow  will  be  my  day  of  days,  the  first  of  Maj^ 
and  gladly  would  I  wander  with  my  beloved  hus- 
band amid  the  hills  and  woods,  where  I  might  see 
and  hear  none  but  himself,  and  might  thank  God 
that,  after  four-and-twenty  years,  I  can  keep  the 
day  with  feeling  of  the  most  thorough  joy  and  sat- 
isfaction. A  few  sighs  may  escape,  for  my  breath 
is  short;  but  joy  shall  be  continually  renewed. 
Yes,  certainly,  tlie  woods,  the  green  woods,  would 
be  my  chosen  home ;  though,  when  I  look  through 
the  fresh  green  leaves  at  the  blue  waters  and  the  un- 


188       CHEIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

clouded  sky,  all  is  so  beautiful,  that  it  is  only  with 
shame  and  self-reproach  that  I  can  really  wish  for 
more.  Such  a  fulness  of  spring  splendor  and 
beauty,  I  think  I  have  never  before  seen ;  the  love- 
liness of  the  trees  and  foliage,  grass  and  flowers,  is 
inexpressible.  And  this  great  change  from  death 
to  life  has  come  to  pass  in  a  few  days,  I  might  say 
in  a  few  hours.  When  we  stand  in  the  sweet  spring- 
tide, looking  through  the  tall,  bright  green  trees  to 
the  pure,  blue  sky,  one  can  scarcely  realize  all  the 
trouble  and  sorrow  that  may  be  within  and  around 
us.  Yes,  spring  is  the  time  of  joy,  and  that  joy  car- 
ries my  heart  upward  to  that  bright  and  happy  land, 
where  there  shall  be  no  more  pain  or  sorrow." 

"  I  must  tell  you,  my  dear  Matthias,"  she  wrote, 
"  that,  notwithstanding  my  difficulty  of  breathing,  I 
am  not  cast  down;  and,  indeed,  I  have  no  reason 
for  being  so,  for  God  overpowers  us  with  blessings 
and  joys,  by  making  our  children  happy  and  pros- 
perous. We  hear  nothing  but  good  from  Gotha, 
and  we  hope  that  you  also  are  in  the  good  way, 
and  that  God  is  with  you.  Matilda  is  a  sensible 
though  merry  child,  and  has  made  herself  useful, 
beyond  what  one  could  expect  from  her  age,  in  this 
season  of  severe  sickness.  She  delights  to  go  about 
with  me  and  to  take  care  of  me  as  far  as  she  is 


LAST  DAYS  OF  CAROLINE  PERTHES.  189 

able.  Perthes  is  specially  fond  of  liis  little  daugh- 
ter. Eleanora  is  a  nice  girl,  and  her  heart  grows  full 
of  kindliness  and  love ;  and  my  Andrew  is  my  de- 
light from  morning  till  evening,  when  he  does  not 
happen  to  be  passionate  and  naughty.  My  dearest 
Perthes  grows  daily  in  earnestness  and  grace,  as 
regards  his  own  soul ;  towards  myself  he  could  not 
be  better.  Can  I  then  do  otherwise  than  thank 
God  and  rejoice  ?" 

Li  a  letter  to  her  eldest  daughter  she  says  again, 
"  I  must  tell  you  more  about  your  father — ^how  he 
continues  to  gain  peace,  quietness  and  stabihty  iu 
spite  of  the  disturbance  and  confusion  by  which  he 
is  surrounded.  I  would  that  you  knew  this  as  sure- 
ly as  I  do — it  is  so  comforting  and  encouraging  to 
see  God's  blessing  so  manifestly  resting  upon  him. 
It  may  be  difficult  for  those  who  look  only  at  sepa- 
rate features  of  his  character  to  realize  this ;  but  I, 
who  am  so  thoroughly  acquainted  with  him,  know 
that  year  by  year  he  draws  nearer  to  God,  and  is 
working  out  his  own  salvation  with  earnestness.  I 
call  upon  you  to  thank  God  with  me  for  having  given 
you  such  a  father ;  he  is  almost  too  dear  and  good. 
If  I  could  only  have  him  a  little  more,  or  rather  talk 
with  him  a  little  more;  for  I  certainly  have  him 
wholly — of  that  I  am  persuaded.     Nothing  in  heav- 


190        CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

en  or  earth  can  surpass  genuine  affection.  It  will 
certainly  make  the  happiness  of  heaven,  only  there 
it  will  be  greater,  and  purer,  and  uninterrupted ;  and, 
according  to  my  present  feehngs,  I  should  desire 
even  there  to  keep  my  Perthes  and  to  love  him." 

In  the  autumn  she  wTote,  "What  a  constant  and 
profound  sense  have  I  of  God's  mercy,  in  the  bright 
hopes  he  has  given  me,  and  to  so  great  an  extent 
already  realized,  in  and  through  you  all !  You  can- 
not imagine  what  bright  and  blessed  hours  your 
father  and  I  enjoy  when  we  sit  down  together,  to 
think  this  over.  It  is  a  gift  of  God's  grace,  un- 
speakably precious,  to  see  our  children  walking  in 
the  way  to  heaven,  however  great  may  be  our  fears 
and  anxieties  respecting  them;  for  God,  who  has 
begun  the  good  work,  will  perform  it  in  us  all,  and 
wiU  perfect  that  which  concerneth  us." 

In  a  letter  written  on  the  last  day  of  December, 
Caroline  says,  "One  could  not  have  believed  it  pos- 
sible to  have  sailed  along  the  world's  sea  of  sorrov/ 
and  suffering,  throughout  three  hundred  and  sixty- 
five  days,  and  to  find  our  fragile  bark  so  little  in- 
jured. Again,  I  feel  that  I  cannot  be  thankful 
enough;  and  yet  how  many  wishes  and  petitions 
are  ready  for  the  opening  year." 

"I  rejoice  with   you,"   she  once  wTote  to  her 


LAST  DAYS  OF  CAROLINE  PERTHES.  191 

daughter,  "  that  you  have  returned  to  your  wonted 
quiet  and  peaceful  hfe,  and  that  I  still  long  with  all 
my  heart  for  quietness  and  peace ;  for  this  longing 
proves  to  me  that  my  unrest  has  not  injured  me. 
Who  can  say  that  it  has  not  done  me  good?  I 
should  certainly  never  choose  to  live  in  a  whirl,  but 
God  makes  all  things  work  together  for  good." 

"Perthes,"  she  once  wrote,  "works  more  than  is 
good  for  him.  Ah !  if  I  could  but  get  him  safe  out 
of  this  tumult !  I  can  only  live  with  him  in  thought, 
for  the  worry  of  incessant  toil  does  not  leave  me  a 
single  quiet  moment  with  him.  But  I  must  and  will 
not  complain,  for  he  is  in  good  spirits,  and  would 
rejoice  if  we  could  be  more  together." 

Ever  since  Agnes  had  been  settled  in  Gotha, 
Caroline  had  cherished  the  hope  that  at  no  distant 
period,  her  husband  would  commit  his  large  busi- 
ness to  others  and  retire  to  Gotha,  where  he  might 
live  more  to  himself  and  his  family.  In  many  let- 
ters she  joyfull}^  alludes  to  this  cheering  prospect. 
"  If  God  will,  we  shall  come  nearer  to  you  and  en- 
joy a  common  happiness.  Yes,  in  the  depths  of  my 
heart  I  anticipate  that  you,  dear  children,  will  be 
the  joy  of  my  old  age,  as  you  were  of  my  youth." 

Somewhat  later  she  wrote,  "  I  notice  that  Per- 
thes is  constantly  endeavoring  to  bring  matters  to  a 


192         CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

point,  in  order  tliat  we  may  join  you ;  but  when  I 
would  express  the  delight  that  this  gives  me,  he 
grows  restive,  and  says  that  I  ought  not  to  rejoice 
even  in  my  heart,  while  all  is  still  so  uncertain." 

Perthes,  in  the  meantime,  was  no  less  earnestly 
occupied  with  the  hope  of  deliverance.  Thus,  in  the 
spring  of  1821,  he  writes  to  Agnes  and  her  husband : 
"You  are  indeed  privileged  in  being  able  to  enjoy 
your  youthful  years  so  free  from  care.  Mine  has 
been  a  tumultuous  life,  and  it  is  seldom  that  a  quiet 
hour,  unburdened  with  anxiety  has  fallen  to  my  lot. 
I  would  thank  God,  with  all  humility,  for  his  guid- 
ance hitherto,  and  commit  my  way  to  him  for  the 
future.  My  desire  is  for  quiet  and  repose.  I  would 
not  be  unemployed ;  but  I  long  to  be  at  liberty  to 
follow  my  own  inclination,  and  gradually  to  obliter- 
ate from  my  heart  and  mind  the  world's  unrest, 
that  I  may  be  ready  for  that  time  when  all  reckon- 
ings here  below  must  be  for  ever  cancelled." 

But  Caroline's  hope  to  spend  the  latter  years  of 
her  life  in  quiet  union  with  her  husband  and  her 
married  daughters,  was  not  to  be  fulfilled.  The  dis- 
ease that  had  attacked  her  heart  and  nerves,  in- 
creased in  a  painful  degree  in  the  spring  of  1821. 

"I  am  restless,  and  my  nerves  are  weak  and 
weary,"  she  wrote  in  April,  "  and  my  breathing  is 


LAST  DAYS  OF  CABOLINE  PERTHES.  193 

become  very  difficult.  This  is  not  a  healthy  condi- 
tion, and  Dr.  Schroeder  does  his  best,  but  he  has 
not  yet  found  the  right  medicine."  Some  weeks 
later  she  writes,  **  I  am  now  drinking  the  Geihiauer 
waters,  and  am  in  the  garden  from  six  to  eight 
o'clock ;  and  happy  to  receive  any  visitors  there.  I 
take  all  sorts  of  journeys  in  imagination  and  hold 
long  conversations  with  you,  my  beloved  children, 
when  I  am  wandering  about  alone." 

Early  in  June  she  was  brought  to  the  gates  of 
death  by  nervous  fever,  consequent  on  a  severe  at- 
tack of  internal  cramp,  and  she  now  became  fully 
aware  of  her  danger.  "  I  am  weary  and  done,"  she 
wrote,  "  and  if  you  should  see  me,  you  would  feel 
that  my  days  are  numbered.  I  give  myself  up  to  be 
nursed  and  cared  for  by  Matilda  as  the  representa- 
tive of  you  all.  She  ministers  to  me  with  childlike 
love,  and  great  judgment  and  caution.  I  have  often 
had  you  by  me,  dear  Matthias,  and  have  wished 
you  good  morning  and  good  night.  I  thank  God 
that  I  can  think  of  you  with  joy.  Once  in  my  de- 
lirium, I  thought  you  were  become  a  Catholic; 
I  took  it  sadly  to  heart,  and  now  I  rejoice  the  more 
that  it  is  not  so." 

Serious  thoughts  of  death  had  been  famihar  to 
Carohne  throughout  her  whole  life.     She  had  ever 

Christ  in  G,'!-.  Komfl.  25 


194         CHRIST  IN  A  GEEMAN  HOME. 

regarded  it  with  solemn  awe,  but  not  with  terrc^r. 

In  one  of  her  letters  she  writes:  "Old  Mrs.  N 

gently  fell  asleep  yesterday.  I  rejoice  to  think  that 
she  was  ready.  She  could  no  longer  enjoy  any- 
thing here  below ;  and  her  weakness  and  confusion 
of  mind  were,  as  far  as  we  could  judge,  a  hinderance 
to  the  enjoyment  of  the  presence  and  consolations  of 
God  himself.  Now  her  dormant  love  is  rekindled 
never  to  be  dimmed  by  the  thousand  trifles  that 
clouded  and  clogged  it  here." 

Again :  "  I  have  passed  some  serious  hours  at 

S 's  death-bed.     He  died  with  wonderful  peace 

and  resignation,  retaining  his  consciousness  to  the 
last.  I  rejoiced  to  look  upon  the  corpse  as  it  lay  in 
the  still  repose  of  death,  no  longer  constrained  to 
cough  and  tortured  for  want  of  air.  It  is  remark- 
able, and  I  have  often  observed  how  high  and  clear 

death  makes  the  forehead;  even  S 's  was  fine 

after  death,  though  certainly  it  was  not  so  in  life." 

On  receiving  the  news  of  the  decease  of  Count 
E.  Stolberg,  in  December,  1819,  Caroline  had  writ- 
ten to  her  eldest  daughter,  "  The  dear,  pure  spirit 
will  now  see  God  face  to  face,  of  that  I  am  persuad- 
ed ;  but  we  have  one  dear  friend  less  on  earth.  The 
last  month  of  his  life  was  spent  in  writing  a  little 
book  on  love ;  this  was  a  good  preparation  for  the 


LAST  DAYS  OF  CAROLINE  PERTHES.  195 

enjoyment  of  the  Eternal  Love.  May  God  enable 
us  all  to  grow  and  stand  fast  in  his  love ;  then  we 
shall  be  prepared  for  all  that  may  happen.  I  w^ould 
so  ghidly  have  ministered  to  Stolberg  in  his  illness 
and  at  his  death;  there  is  no  greater  comfort  on 
earth  than  to  see  a  man  die  in  full  consciousness, 
committing  himself  peacefully  and  joyfully  to  the 
mercy  of  God  in  faith.  Dear  Agnes,  we  have  once 
seen  this  together  in  my  dear  father.  Do  you  still 
remember  the  wonderful  beauty  of  his  eyes  in  those 
last  hours,  even  to  the  last  minute  ?" 

But  while  Carohne  did  not  shrink  from  the 
thought  of  death,  she  thoroughly  enjoyed  life. 
"  When  at  our  outset  in  life  we  have  surmounted 
one  hill,  we  are  apt  to  think  we  have  left  all  hills 
behind,  and  have  nothing  but  smooth  walking  to 
the  end  of  our  days,"  she  says  to  her  daughter 
Louisa  ;  "  at  least  I  have  often  felt  this ;  and  then  I 
came  to  little  hills  and  great  mountains  which  I 
must  needs  cross  :  and  so  it  will  be  till  we  have 
climbed  the  last,  and  laid  down  our  burden. 
Still,  notwithstanding  the  hills,  life  is  pleasant  and 
valuable  to  m.e,  and  were  it  God's  will,  I  could 
gladly  live  among  you  yet  awhile  with  my  beloved 
Perthes,  especially  if  he  could  find  a  place  of  rest 
where  I  might  be  more  with  him.     In  that  case,  I 


196        CIIKIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

should  indeed  wisli  tliat  my  breatliing  were  some- 
wliat  more  free,  so  that  I  might  go  about  and  en- 
joy Hfe  with  you.'*  And  soon  after,  "  It  ought  to  be 
so,  but  the  thought  of  keeping  time  in  our  grasp 
often  occurs.  Assuredly  God  cannot  have  less  good 
in  store  for  us  in  heaven,  but  that  which  we  have 
here  we  see  with  our  eyes,  and  thus  it  has  a  strong- 
er hold  on  our  hearts  than  the  anticipation  of  even 
the  better  things  awaiting  us  above.  But  even 
here  below  there,  are  moments  of  great  and  incon- 
ceivable assurance  and  blessedness,  if  we  could  only 
keep  them.  But  my  special  sorrow  is,  that  I  am 
not  at  all  times  master  of  my  own  heart,  and  my 
greatest  comfort  is,  that  God  knows  me  perfectly; 
and  certainly,  I  desire  far  more  than  I  can  accom- 
phsh." 

In  the  middle  of  July,  Caroline  was  taken  to 
Wandsbeck,  in  order  to  be  away  from  the  bustle  of 
home,  and  that  she  might  take  the  air  without  go- 
ing up  and  down  stairs.  She  now  suffered  much 
from  difficulty  of  breathing  and  cramp  in  the  chest. 
*'  When  I  sit  still,"  she  says,  "  I  am  pretty  well,  and 
enjoy  the  beautiful  weather,  quite  forgetting  my 
pain,  but  the  slightest  movement  reminds  me  of  it 
at  once." 

"  It  is  now  three  months,"  she  writes  at  another 


LAST  DAYS  OF  CAROLINE  PERTHES.  197 

time,  "  since  I  have  been  able  to  do  anything  in  the 
house,  kitchen,  or  cellar,  and  this  distresses  me 
greatly.  I  long  indescribably  to  return  to  my  du- 
ties, and  to  spare  my  dear  Perthes  any  further  anx- 
iety about  my  health.  I  cannot  do  any  kind  of 
work,  not  even  knit,  neither  can  I  read ;  but  I  feel 
no  tediousness  and  am  in  very  good  spirits.  I  must 
not  write  any  more,  my  dear  child.  It  is  not  my 
heart,  but  my  head  that  is  weary." 

These  were  almost  the  last  words  that  she  was 
able  to  write  to  her  distant  children,  but  her  affec- 
tion continued  undiminished,  and  she  rejoiced  with 
them,  as  warmly  as  ever,  on  the  occasion  of  the 
birth  of  her  second  grandson  in  July.  "  God  help 
those  poor  creatures,"  she  wrote,  "who  have  no 
love  in  their  hearts;  how  glad  I  am  to  be  your 
mother,  and  how  I  rejoice  in  all  your  happiness !" 

In  her  last  letter  to  her  sou  in  Tubingen,  on  the 
2d  of  August,  she  says  :  "  We  passed  our  wedding- 
day  very  happily  at  Wandsbeck ;  I  went  round  the 
beautiful  large  meadow  many  times  with  my  dear 
husband,  sitting  down  occasionally,  and  cannot  be 
thankful  enough  for  this  delightful  walk.  We  were 
alone,  and  it  was  many  years  since  I  had  such  a 
walk  with  my  dear  Perthes.  Our  conversation  was 
very  comprehensive  and  hopeful;   since  it  is  not 


198        CHRIST  IN  \  GERMAN  HOME. 

only  the  past  but  the  present  which  is  ours.  We 
thought  of  you  all." 

But  Caroline's  health  was  not  improved  by  her 
stay  at  Wandsbeck.  "  How  gladly  would  I  tell  you 
that  I  am  strong  and  hearty,"  she  wrote  to  Perthes 
on  the  8th  of  August,  "  but  I  cannot ;  I  do  not  feel 
strong.  Pleased  I  am,  but  not  cheerful,  though  I 
might  be  so  could  I  sit  on  my  bench  in  the  .open 
air.  The  pleasure  of  being  out  carries  me  beyond 
myself,  but  within  doors  I  do  not  easily  forget  my- 
self, and  my  short  breath ;  perhaps  to-morrow  God 
will  send  the  right  thought.  My  general  health  is 
still  good,  and  the  one  weakness  may  yet  be  found 
out.  My  feelings  tell  me  that  I  may  be  perfectly 
restored,  though  my  understanding  speaks  rather 
differently." 

A  few  dsLjs  after  this  Caroline  returned  to  Ham- 
burg, in  order  to  be  near  her  physician,  but  the 
hope  of  recovery  diminished  day  by  day.  Although 
she  was  not  at  this  time  living  in  the  immediate  ex- 
pectation of  death,  she  enjoyed  a  closer  commun- 
ion with  God.  The  old  hymn,  "Lord,  I  would 
venture  on  thy  word,"*  was  her  delight.  When, 
through  the  severity  of  her  sufferings,  and  the  rest- 
lessness of  fever,  she  could  with  difficulty  keep  be- 
*„^m,  aitf  bfiit  3Bort  foU'g  feiii  geHjaQt." 


LAST  DAYS  OF  CABOLINE  PERTHES.  199 

fore  her  the  contents  of  the  hymn,  she  would  take 
up  her  pen,  and  write  a  few  verses  in  order  to  im- 
press these  breathings  of  prayer  on  her  mind. 

Perthes  had  long  been  aware  of  her  danger. 
Thus  in  a  letter  written  somewhat  later,  he  says : 
"  I  have  long  suffered  on  her  account,  and  for  many 
months  have  been  weighed  down  with  grief.  My 
lonely  walks  have  been  spent  in  endeavoring  to 
realize  the  heavy  trial  that  is  upon  me,  and  with 
God's  help  to  prepare  for  it.  Ever  and  anon  hope 
revived,  but  only  to  be  dashed  again.  No  one,  who 
knew  as  I  did  the  weight  of  the  fetters  that 
a  weary  body  imposed  upon  so  active  and  intense 
a  spirit  as  hers,  could  believe  that  she  could  long 
endure  it.  She  has  suffered  much  for  a  long  time, 
and  it  is  a,  hard  struggle  for  one  so  excitable  and 
energetic,  to  feel  herself  constantly  bound.  It  was 
only  her  genuine  Christianity  and  the  consideration 
of  the  sufferings  of  our  Lord,  that  supported  her 
and  kept  her  patient,  yea,  cheerful,  and  preserved 
]ier  sympathies  to  the  last.  I  alone  knew  how  weak 
she  was,  and  how  much  she  suffered;  her  friends 
and  acquaintances  saw  only  her  kindness  and  men-, 
tal  energy." 

On  Friday,  the  24tli  of  August,  fi^equent  and 
violent  attacks  of  internal  cramp  placed  her  life  in 


200       CHEIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

immediate  danger,  and  from  this  time  she  alter- 
nated between  wild  delirium  and  exhanstion,  strug- 
gles for  breath  and  profound  sleep;  but  there  were 
occasional  hours  of  freedom  from  pain,  and  of  per- 
fect consciousness,  and  then  the  peace  of  faith,  the 
assurance  of  hope,  and  the  joy  of  love,  were  victori- 
ous over  suffering  and  death. 

"  Your  mother  is  very  ill,"  writes  Perthes,  Au- 
gust 28th,  to  his  sons-in-law.  "We  are  in  God's 
hand,  and  may  hope,  although  we  have  more  cause 
for  fear.  I  find  my  comfort  and  support  in  submis- 
sion :  '  Thy  will  be  done,  O  Lord.*  If  God  has  or- 
dained the  death  of  your  pious  mother,  his  will  bo 
done.  I  could  not  count  much  on  my  own  strength, 
the  rending  of  such  ties  is  terrible.  It  is  terrible  to 
be  left  without  the  only  creature  who  entirely  knows 
me — sad,  desolate  loneliness,  long  or  short,  is  all  that 
remains ;  no  more  comfort  of  mutual  cooperation ;  no 
helper  in  all  my  joys  and  sorrows.  I  cannot  and 
dare  not  hope ;  it  is  only  when  I  realize  the  worst 
that  I  find  comfort  and  support." 

On  the  evening  of  the  day  on  which  this  letter 
was  written,  on  the  28th  of  August,  1821,  a  stroke 
of  paralysis  put  an  end  to  Caroline's  life  so  sud- 
denly, that  no  pressure  of  the  hand,  no  word  or  look 
of  love,  gave  token  of  farewell  to  those  around  her. 


LAST  DAYS  OF  CAROLINE  PERTHES.    201 

"Here  I  am  with  my  poor  cliildren,"  wrote  Per- 
thes on  the  following  morning  to  his  son-in-law, 
"  and  life  looks  empty  and  desolate.  We  seek  for 
the  overflowing  affection  that  has  been  so  richly 
granted  to  us ;  and  yet,  since  we  could  have  it  only 
by  bringing  back  my  Caroline  and  your  mother, 
could  we  wish  that  her  free  and  pious  spirit  should 
be  again  imprisoned  in  the  body?  My  poor  chil- 
dren !  You  older  ones  have  had  the  benefit  of  your 
mother's  mind,  but  the  younger  ones  must  for  ever 
miss  her  love  and  watchful  spirit.  God  help  them 
and  me.  It  breaks  my  heart  to  see  the  little  ones 
seeking  up  and  down  for  then-  mother  everywhere, 
and  to  hear  their  sobs  when  they  do  not  find  her. 
Her  face  in  its  last  sleep  is  inexpressibly  beautiful, 
from  the  height  of  the  forehead  and  the  sweet  lov- 
ing smile  that  plays  about  the  mouth." 

In  a  letter  written  the  same  day  to  his  son  Mat- 
thias, Perthes  says :  "  Her  love  can  no  longer  bless  us 
here  below ;  she  is  at  rest  with  God,  while  we  mourn 
her  loss.  Weep  as  much  as  you  can,  then  compose 
and  command  yourself,  and  come  to  us." 

"My  sorrow  does  not  make  me  idle,"  he  wrote 

a  few  days  after  to  his  daughter ;  "  it  rather  rouses 

my  affections,  and  excites  me  to  be  helpful  to  all 

around  me,  as  far  as  I  can.     I  have  abundant  cause 

26 


202        CHKIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

for  thankfulness,  that  for  four-and-twenty  years  God 
has  permitted  me  to  enjoy  this  treasure  of  affection, 
energy  and  intelligence,  and  I  would  render  thanks 
to  him  for  this.  Now  she  knows  how  and  wherein 
I  have  sinned,  as  she  could  not  know  here  below, 
but  now  she  also  realizes  the  full  measure  of  my 
affection.  How^  many  are  the  hinderances,  limita- 
tions and  circumstances,  great  and  small,  that  op- 
pose our  recognition  of  the  love  that  is  in  other 
men's  hearts !  That  she  now  knows  me  thoroughly 
and  helps  me  to  cleave  to  God  and  to  walk  before 
him,  I  am  fully  persuaded,  though  I  am  aware  K^ev- 
elation  gives  no  express  countenance  to  this  be- 
hef." 

In  a  subsequent  letter  Perthes  says :  "  All  that  I 
have  done  and"  planned,  that  was  not  immediately 
connected  with  business,  for  four-and-twenty  years, 
has  been  solely  in  reference  to  your  mother.  She 
never  knew,  at  least  in  full,  how  dependent  I  was 
on  her ;  she  only  thought,  through  the  depth  of  her 
love  for  me,  what  sacrifices  I  had  made.  But  now 
all  this  is  over.  I  am  no  longer  bound;  I  can  do 
what  I  will,  and  next  to  the  yearning  after  her,  I 
am  most  oppressed  in  my  solitude  by  the  conscious- 
ness of  freedom.  In  my  heart  all  is  dark  and  deso- 
late; I  long  for  communication  with  some  loving 


LAST  DAYS  OF  CAROLINE  PERTHES.  203 

soul,  as  if  communion  with  the  Invisible  were  not 
enough,  and  to  this  disquiet  is  added  the  anxious 
fear,  lest  when  time  shall  have  cooled  down  my 
burning  sorrow,  my  affection  for  your  mother  should 
also  suffer  some  diminution." 

In  a  letter  to  Helena  Jacobi,  who  had  been  a 
friend  to  Caroline  from  her  girlhood,  Perthes  said : 
"You,  indeed,  early  appreciated  the  worth  of  my 
Caroline;  but,  removed  from  her  as  you  were  in 
these  last  years,  you  could  not  see  the  development 
of  her  mind.  Her  piety  and  loveliness,  and  the 
simplicity  of  her  character,  were  untouched  by 
years,  and  her  affection,  while  it  retained  all  its 
strength  and  depth,  expanded  in  every  direction, 
and  showered  blessings  and  benefits  on  all  within 
her  reach.  She  had  counsel,  comfort  and  help  for 
all  who  approached  her,  and  won  love  and  an  es- 
teem bordering  on  reverence,  from  persons  of  the 
most  opposite  character  and  circumstances.  Caro- 
line's imagination  was  of  unparalleled  vivacity,  and 
originated  the  deepest  sympathy  with  all  that  was 
passing  in  the  world.  She  had  much  experience  of 
human  nature,  but  her  judgment  was  always  loving 
and  compassionate,  her  faith  free  from  the  nari'ow- 
ness  of  the  letter,  and  great  as  was  her  affection  for 
me,  she  was  perfectly  independent  in  mind.     For 


204        CHKIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

f  our-and-twenty  years  we  liad  lived  together  through 
cares  and  anxieties,  sometimes  through  sorrow  and 
trouble,  but  in  all  she  was  happy,  for  every  moment 
was  filled  with  love  and  lively  sympathy;  always 
resigned  to  the  inevitable,  she  preserved  her  heroic 
spirit  in  great  events.  That  poverty  of  spirit  so  ex- 
tolled by  Tauler  and  Thomas  a  Kempis,  was  hers ; 
she  had  acquired  it  in  struggling  with  a  vigorous 
nature,  to  which  passion,  impetuosity,  and  ambition 
were  not  unknown.  From  her  earliest  youth  she 
had  Hved  in  continual  intercourse  with  God,  and 
she  was  sincere  as  I  have  known  few  besides.  And 
now  this  great  and  rare  blessing  is  lost  to  me  in  the 
grave.  In  vain  I  stretch  out  my  arms;  humanly 
speaking,  I  am  alone,  and  yet  I  have  a  foretaste  of 
a  previously  unknown  blessedness,  since  our  souls 
may  now  meet  unfettered ;  but  this  may  not  be  put 
into  words,  since  once  uttered  it  becomes  untrue." 


^v::^ 


XIX. 


COTHA. 

f.FTEB  Caroline's  death  Perthes  longed 
more  ardently  than  ever  for  a  quieter 
f2i^  life  for  himself  and  children.     For  a 
long  time  he  had  planned  to  transfer 
P  1  his  Hamburg  business  to  his  friend  Besser, 
and  to  establish  a  publishing  house  in  Goiha, 
the  home  of  his  married  daughters. 

To  them  he  writes :  "  Next  Easter  we  shall  come 
to  you,  and  if  it  please  God,  stay  with  you.  The 
housekeeping  can  be  carried  on  as  usual ;  Matilda 
is  active  and  sensible,  and  has  conducted  it  with 
discretion  and  judgment  beyond  her  years,  during 
her  mother's  illness.  She  still  continues  the  care 
of  the  younger  children,  but  apart  from  all  other 
considerations,  I  should  be  doing  injustice  to  Ma- 
tilda, if  by  remaining  here  I  were  to  oppress  her 


206        CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

youthful  spirit  of  seventeen  by  leaving  so  much  un- 
der her  charge." 

Final  arrangements  were  at  last  completed,  and 
in  March,  1822,  Perthes  and  his  four  children  left 
Hamburg  for  their  new  home. 

Gotha  cannot  fail  to  impress  favorably  all  who 
visit  it.  It  forms  a  crescent  at  the  foot  of  the 
Schlossberg,  and  is  surrounded  by  a  rich  country. 
The  ducal  palace,  with  its  remarkably  fine  orange- 
ry, adds  to  its  other  attractions. 

Despite  the  ravages  of  war,  Gotha  retained 
many  primitive  German  customs  when  Perthes  first 
settled  there.  Every  evening  the  streets  of  one- 
storied  houses  were  filled  with  cattle  returning  from 
pasture,  and  by  night  the  only  sound  heard  was  the 
loud  horn  of  the  watchman  and  his  pious  caution, 
"Put  out  the  fire,  and  put  out  the  light,  tliat  no 
evil  chance  to-night,  and  praise  we  God  the  Lord." 
The  streets  were  lively  only  on  market-days,  when 
the  robust  forms  of  the  Thuringian  peasants 
with  their  gayly-dressed,  healthy-looking  wives  and 
daughters,  selling  country  and  forest  produce,  filled 
the  square  in  front  of  the  old  town-hall,  on  whose 
roof  a  greedy-looking  wooden  head  opened  its 
mouth  wide,  at  the  striking  of  the  hour,  as  if  un- 
certain whether  to  speak  or  bite. 


GOTHA.  207 

Needy  schoolboys  and  students  might  often  be 
heard  singing  before  the  houses  of  the  rich,  in  hopes 
of  adding  to  their  scanty  means,  as  Martin  Luther 
had  done  in  his  school- days  at  Eisenach. 

Not  less  notable  were  the  giant  forms  of  the 
guard,  with  their  wide,  white  cloaks  down  to  their 
heels,  their  great  swords  at  their  side,  their  heavy 
boots  and  clattering  spurs,  though  horses  they  had 
none.  Peaceable,  friendly  tradesmen  they  were, 
who  were  accustomed  for  a  moderate  consideration 
to  figure,  a  few  days  at  a  time,  as  warriors,  in  the 
six  or  eight  uniforms  which  were  passed  from  one 
to  another. 

All  intercourse  with  the  neighboring  villages 
was  carried  on  by  a  walking-post,  and  when,  in 
September,  1825,  the  first  diligence  entered  Gotha, 
the  whole  town  assembled  to  witness  the  phenome- 
non, and  for  months  nothing  was  spoken  of  but  the 
energy  of  the  postmaster-general,  who  had  actually 
brought  seeming  impossibilities  to  pass. 

But  notwithstanding  its  quaintness,  Gotha  had 
long  been  a  centre  for  much  mental  and  intellectual 
activity. 

During  the  first  few  weeks  after  his  arrival  Per- 
thes was  occupied  in  arranging  his  new  mode  of 
life.     In  April  he  wrote :   "  I  have  not  yet  begun 


208        CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

my  regular  habits;  the  many  things  to  be  done 
first,  and  the  presence  of  my  son  Matthias,  have 
filled  my  time.  Our  dwelling  stands  in  a  very  sea 
of  flowers,  and  commands  an  extensive  view.  We 
can  see  the  Brocken  in  clear  weather.  My  daugh- 
ter Matilda  governs  the  new  household  judiciously 
and  firmly.  Clement  I  have  sent  to  the  gymna- 
sium ;  the  education  of  the  two  youngest  is  provi- 
ded for,  and  the  most  necessary  visits  made.  We 
are  a  good  deal  with  my  married  daughters  and 
their  husbands,  and  I  already  foresee  that  my  new 
mode  of  Hfe  will  suit  me." 

In  May  he  writes :  "  My  spirit  is  deeply  troubled. 
This  returning  home  without  my  Caroline,  without 
finding  the  love,  the  fulness  of  soul  from  which  I 
drew  my  life,  is  horrible.  I  can  impart  nothing, 
receive  nothing;  all  is  barren  and  dead.  My  arri- 
val yesterday  was  most  painful — no  welcome,  no 
life  in  our  communications ;  the  poor  children  can- 
not supply  that  want." 

In  speaking  of  his  removal  to  Gotha  he  says : 
"  If  one  ever  wishes  to  make  a  decided  change  in 
Hfe,  it  must  be  while  he  has  strength  not  only  to 
break  off  from  the  old,  but  to  found  the  new ;  other- 
wise there  results  a  wretched  half-and-half  exist- 
ence, full  of  divided  regrets  and  weak  yearnings  after 


GOTHA.  209 

the  past,  and  a  depressed  disposition,  which  unfits 
for  business  and  never  can  prosper.  Ten  years 
later  I  should  not  have  been  able  to  carry  out  my 
resolve ;  now  Grod  help  me  onward." 

To  his  old  partner,  Besser,  he  wrote :  "  We  must 
settle  our  affairs  as  soon  as  possible,  for  if  one  of 
us  were  to  die  before  this  were  done,  inevitable  con- 
fusion and  mischief  would  ensue,  for  then  the  law 
would  settle  what  we  arrange  as  brothers :  therefore 
I  urge  you  to  make  all  possible  speed.  After  all, 
when  this  is  over,  I  shall  not  be  estranged  even 
from  your  affairs — from  yourself  I  never  could  be — 
but  I  shall  watch  them  with  delight  and  sympathy, 
and  in  many  things  we  shall  be  able  to  help  each  other 
as  long  as  we  hve."  The  only  difficulty  attending  this 
dissolution  of  partnership  arose  from  each  think- 
ing himself  too  much  benefited  by  the  propositions 
of  the  other.  However,  matters  were  soon  adjust- 
ed, and  Perthes  again  wrote :  "  We  have  now,  dear 
brother,  worked  together  for  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
in  troublous  times.  Not  once  have  we  taken  differ- 
ent views  as  to  *  meum  and  tuum ;'  not  for  one  mo- 
ment during  all  those  years  have  we  ever  felt  it 
possible  to  waver  in  our  mutual  confidence.  Let 
us  thank  God  that  at  the  hour  of  parting  that  con- 
fidence is  as  firm  and  pure  as  it  has  been  during 

ObrlRt  in  Gcr.  Horaa.  27 


210        CHPvIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

our  long  associated  life.  Sucli  happiness  in  such 
degree  is  Touchsafed  to  few." 

Besser  remained  through  life  Perthes'  most  inti- 
mate friend.  After  Caroline's  death  Perthes  had 
written  to  him  thus :  "  You  are  now  the  only  man 
who  knows  all  about  me  that  one  mortal  can  know 
about  another,  and,  besides,  you  are  the  bridge 
connecting  me  with  my  earlier  days,  which  else 
were  entirely  buried." 

He  had  always  been  a  remarkable  character, 
and  so  continued  to  the  end.  One  describes  him 
as  the  most  benevolent  and  lovable  of  men ;  full  of 
energy,  enthusiasm,  and  feeling.  The  beauty  of  a 
landscape  would  move  him  to  tears.  Extravagantly 
fond  of  music,  a  tune  would  haunt  him  for  weeks. 
At  such  times  he  would  try  to  be  alone  to  sing  it, 
and  his  voice  would  be  heard  proceeding  from  all 
sorts  of  hiding-places.  In  enjoyment  he  would  go 
to  the  verge  of  exhaustion,  and  good  company  made 
him  only  too  happy.  In  great  things  he  was  sim- 
ple and  unrequiring ;  but  he  had  a  thousand  small 
peculiarities ;  for  instance,  when  travelling  he  always 
wore  a  quantity  of  coats  for  the  sake  of  the  pockets. 
Caroline,  laughingly,  once  counted  twenty-one,  all 
filled  with  scissors,  penknives,  pocketbooks,  etc. 
Yet  his  cheerfulness,  courage,  and  decision,  unfail- 


GOTHA.  .  211 

ing  in  any  emergency,  ever  made  Lim  a  most  de- 
lightful companion.  A  thorough  humorist,  he  was 
also  a  dear  child  of  God,  and  a  singularly  pure, 
strong-minded  man. 

But  life  in  the  new  home  was  by  no  means  an 
inactive  one ;  the  publishing  business,  journeys,  so- 
cial intercourse,  and  long  rambles  in  the  Thuringian 
forest,  filled  the  days  which  were  only  too  short. 
"  My  home-circle  and  those  of  my  sons-in-law," 
writes  Perthes,  "  fill  up  my  idle  hours.  William 
Perthes  is  the  same  stable,  firm,  determined  char- 
acter he  ever  was;  combining  a  healthy  intellect 
and  a  warm  heart  as  few  others  do." 

Then  occurred  the  betrothal  of  Matilda  to  Fred- 
derick  Becker,  of  Gotha.  Perthes  had  written  a 
year  before  to  Besser:  "Of  all  the  friends  of  my 
sons-in-law,  Becker  suits  me  best;  he  is  a  noble 
hearted,  good  man,  thoroughly  intelligent  and  well- 
informed;  indulgent  to  others,  and,  perhaps,  only 
too  severe  towards  himself.  One  may  learn  from 
him  the  nature  and  influence  of  truly  conscientious 
order."  To  another  friend  he  says:  "You  have 
heard  from  me  of  my  warm  attachment  to  Becker, 
and  will,  therefore,  readily  believe  that  I  am  re- 
joiced to  give  my  child  to  him." 

Although   Perthes  had   heartily   approved  his 


212        CHRIST   IN  A  GERMAN  HOME-. 

daugliter's  liappy  betrothal,  her  departure  from 
home  cost  him  a  severe  struggle.  On  the  day  after 
the  wedding,  which  took  place  on  the  1st  of  June, 
1824,  he  had  all  his  children  assembled  around 
him,  but  as  one  by  one  departed  leaving  him  alone 
with  the  three  youngest  only,  he  was  overwhelmed 
with  sadness.  "We  find  him  writing:  "They  were 
indeed  heavy  hours  when  all  forsook  me.  First 
Matthias  left  to  begin  a  new  and  independent  life  ; 
then  both  my  married  daughters  returned  to  their 
long-established  homes;  at  last  Matilda  with  her 
husband.  The  farewell  of  this  dear  daughter,  who 
clung  to  me  with  boundless  tenderness,  pierced  my 
heart,  and  I  found  myself  alone — alone  as  for  thirty 
years  I  had  never  been.  Henceforth  I  have  no 
family  circle;  the  house  that  Caroline  and  I  had 
founded  is  fast  going  to  pieces,  and  the  picture  of 
myself  as  the  last  remaining  one  haunts  me  hke  a 
spectre." 

"I  am  alone,"  he  says  in  another  letter;  "no 
one  understands  me  now  as  I  was  once  understood. 
If  I  speak  out  of  my  heart,  the  answer  I  receive 
teaches  me  that  my  meaning  is  not  apprehended." 
Again,  he  says,  "  It  is  wretched  enough  to  lead  an 
unmarried  life,  but  still  worse  to  have  known  per- 
fect sympathy  of  soul,  and  then  to  lose  it.     I  pos- 


GOTHA.  213 

sess,  in  no  common  degree,  my  children's  love,  but 
this  cannot  replace  the  love  of  which  I  have  been 
bereft." 

Previous  to  this  he  had  collected  together  all 
the  letters  his  wife  had  written  to  friends  and  fam- 
ily, as  well  as  to  himself,  that  he  might  revive  in  his 
heart  the  history  of  the  years  spent  with  Caroline. 
"A  past  life  of  five-and-twenty  years  lies  before 
me,"  he  wrote,  "  this  little  bundle  contains  an  in- 
finitude of  love  and  thought,  truth  and  conflict,  and 
evokes  from  their  graves  many  a  forgotten  fact  and 
feeUng.  Yes,  hfe  is  a  dream,  but  a  very  serious 
one,  and  our  dreams  are  solemn  truths  veiled  in 
airy  fictions." 

Not  long  after  Matilda's  marriage  Perthes  was 
persuaded  to  remove  with  his  three  children  to  the 
house  of  his  son-in-law,  Becker.  He  was  heartily 
welcomed  by  his  children  to  their  home,  and  every- 
thing was  done  for  his  happiness  and  comfort. 
Still  he  could  not  overcome  the  fear  of  becoming  a 
burden,  as  age  came  upon  him. 

In  July  Caroline's  mother  came  to  Gotha,  for  a 
visit,  and  while  walking  with  Perthes  plainly  told 
him  that  solitude  was  not  good,  he  could  not  bear 
it,  and  that  it  was  his  duty  to  seek  a  companion 
for  the  remainder  of  his  life.     He  made  no  reply, 


214        CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

but  in  an  instant  his  heart  turned  to  Charlotte 
Hornbostel,  the  sister  of  Becker,  his  son-in-law. 
Charlotte  had  returned  to  her  home,  a  widow  with 
four  children,  two  of  whom  were  hopeless  invalids. 
She  was  now  living  in  the  next  house  to  her  broth- 
er, and  was  well  known  and  loved  by  the  daughter 
of  Perthes.  He  himself  had  been  strongly  attract- 
ed by  her  clear  intellect,  quick  wit,  and  good  sense, 
as  well  as  by  her  cheerful,  untiring  devotion  to  her 
sick  children.  But  the  possibility  of  a  nearer  rela- 
tion had  never  occurred  to  him,  until  it  was  sug- 
gested by  his  mother-in-law. 

A  fierce  conflict  now  arose  in  his  heart  which 
yearned  for  companionship,  while  it  shrank  from 
anything  like  infidelity  to  Carohne.  In  September 
he  wrote  to  his  mother-in-law  telling  her  of  the 
struggle  through  which  he  was  passing.  He  says : 
"  I  am  quite  certain  that  Caroline  foresaw,  from  her 
knowledge  of  my  character  and  temperament,  a 
second  marriage  for  me,  and  I  am  equally  certain 
that  no  new  union  could  ever  disturb  my  spirit's 
abiding  union  with  her."  After  speaking  of  second 
marriages,  he  says :  "  To  us,  in  our  life  here  below, 
the  love  of  the  creature  is  given  to  educate  us  for 
the  love  of  God.  Can  I  dispense  with  this  earthly 
help,  and  yet  maintain  love  alive  in  my  heart  ?    Can 


GOTHA.  215 

I,  without  family  ties  to  constrain  me,  go  on  caring 
for  others  ?  Can  I  escape  the  danger  of  isolating 
myself,  and  living  in  selfishness,  gross  or  refined '? 
I  recall  many  a  fearful  instance  of  this  in  others ! 
Is  it,  in  short,  weakness  to  say  to  myself,  'Thou 
canst  not  dispense  wdth  the  earthly  helps  to  a  lov- 
ing spirit,'  or  is  it  arrogance  to  believe  that  I  no 
longer  need  such?  I  do  not  know  how  to  answer 
this  question." 

But  Perthes'  gi'owing  attachment  for  Charlotte, 
at  last  prompted  him  to  make  known  to  her  his 
feelings,  and  to  seek  her  love  in  return.  After  some 
days  of  suspense  a  favorable  answer  was  received. 
The  '25th  of  October  was  the  day  of  betrothal,  and 
on  the  following  May  they  were  married. 

This  second  marriage  was  one  of  great  happi- 
ness, notwithstanding  its  many  cares  and  anxieties. 
Perthes  had  not  only  his  three  children  to  educate, 
but  was  also  responsible  for  four  step-children.  In 
addition  four  others  were  born,  Eudolph,  Caroline, 
Augustus,  and  Eliza ;  but  not  for  a  single  moment 
did  he  consider  his  large  household  a  burden.  On 
the  contrary,  the  feeling  of  gratitude  for  the  happi- 
ness conferred  upon  him  remained  with  him  till  his 
death. 


/S^^^r-VDfeX^tS^'C>oe/E>^ 


XX. 


PERTHES^    VIEWS     OF    LIFE. 


I^^HE  publishing  business  which  Perthes 
■^^  estabUshed  in  Gotha  in  1822,  rapidly 
<^  increased  in  magnitude  and  importance. 
He  seemed  instinctively  to  know  what 
the  spirit  of  the  age  demanded.  But  for 
him  many  a  valuable  work  would  have  never 
seen  the  light,  while  others  of  injurious  character 
would  have  appeared  in  their  places.  He  not  only 
refused  to  issue  any  immoral  book,  but  influenced 
not  a  few  German  publishers  to  take  the  same  stand. 
He  gave  to  the  world  numerous  theological 
works  and  Scripture  commentaries,  whose  good 
influence  can  only  be  estimated  when  we  realize 
how  strong  a  hold  Rationalism  had  taken  upon  the 
German  mind.  Men  of  culture  knew  the  Bible  only 
by  hearsay,   and   looked   upon   the  peasant   and 


PERTHES'  VIEWS  OF  LIFE  217 

meclianic  who  read  it  with  pity.  Perthes  says, 
"  During  the  first  ten  years  of  my  establishment  in 
Hamburg  I  sold  not  a  single  Bible,  except  to  a  few 
bookbinders  in  neighboring  country  towns;  and  I 
remember  very  well  a  good  sort  of  man  who  came 
into  my  shop  for  a  Bible,  and  took  great  pains  to 
inform  me  it  was  for  a  person  about  to  be  confirmed, 
fearing  I  should  suppose  it  was  for  himself." 

One  of  Perthes'  first  acts  as  a  publisher  was  to 
seek  out  the  leading  scholars  of  Germany,  many  of 
whom  he  incited  to  prepare  histories  of  the  differ- 
ent European  states. 

His  life  was  full  of  activity.  Authors  old  and 
young  sought  his  acquaintance.  The  most  distin- 
guished men  of  Germany  visited  him ;  and  num- 
berless letters  poured  in  from  historians,  theologi- 
ans, and  friends,  asking  for  advice,  aid,  and  sympa- 
thy, which  were  freely  given.  "  It  was  so  comfort- 
ing," wrote  a  friend,  "  to  know  of  one  in  the  world 
from  whom,  in  every  case  of  need,  one  was  sure  of 
sincere  sympathy,  loving  good-will,  and  judicious 
counsel." 

A  large  collection  of  his  own  letters  are  found  in 

his  biography,  which  are  full  of  interest;  but  the 

limits  of  the  present  volume  forbid  other  than  a 

few  detached  extracts : 

28 


218        CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

"  He  who  should  attempt  nothuig  on  earth  but 
to  meditate  on  God,  and  feel  His  presence,  would 
soon  cease  to  do  either.  The  Christian  is  set  in 
the  midst  of  the  world,  and  let  him  stand  where  he 
may,  will  always  be  called  on  to  fulfil  various  exter- 
nal duties;  in  these  he  is  to  act  as  skilfully,  expe- 
ditiously, and  energetically  as  his  faculties  will 
allow,  and  he  may  not  extinguish  his  earthly  nature 
or  his  senses,  for  he  needs  them  all  in  order  to  be 
God's  faithful  servant  and  steward." 

"I  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  man  who 
cannot  be  moved  with  indignation.  There  are  more 
good  people  than  bad  in  the  world,  and  the  bad  get 
the  upper  hand  merely  because  they  are  bolder.'* 

"To  love  mankind  in  old  age,  and  to  remain 
steadfast  in  love  even  to  death,  is  exceedingly  diffi- 
cult. A  youthful  warmth  of  feeling  can  be  pre- 
served in  old  age  only  by  faith  and  humility." 

"Whoever  is  convinced  of  sin,  and  believes  in 
redemption  through  Christ,  is  a  Christian,  no  mat- 
ter what  the  color  of  his  party." 

"  It  is  a  proof  of  the  divinity  of  the  Bible,  that 
different  books  affect  different  Christians  most, 
according  to  their  difference  of  temperament  and 
education,  while  yet  all  books  lead  to  the  same 
end." 


PERTHES'  VIEWS  OF  LIFE.  219 

"One  thing  I  am  more  and  more  sure  of:  men 
of  giant  intellect  and  high  imagination  are  little 
fitted  to  govern ;  the  practical  man,  if  he  will  avail 
himself  of  the  intellect  of  others,  makes  the  best 
administrator." 

"  Napoleon  will  yet  become  the  idol  of  the  age ; 
many  are  longing  for  another  such  despot  to  appear ; 
and  it  is  quite  possible  that  their  desire  may  be 
gratified,  for,  out  of  fermentations  like  the  present, 
dragons  may  well  arise." 

"  I  consider  Napoleon  to  be  one  of  the  greatest 
and  most  remarkable  phenomena  in  the  history  of 
mankind.  He  was  a  mighty  instrument  in  the  hands 
of  Providence,  and  when  he  had  done  his  work,  and 
was  no  longer  needed,  he  was  thrown,  like  other 
wornout  tools,  into  a  comer ;  for  not  in  himself,  but 
only  as  an  instrument,  had  he  any  importance." 

"  Go  forward  with  hope  and  confidence.  This 
is  the  advice  given  thee  by  an  old  man  who  has  had 
a  full  share  of  the  burden  and  heat  of  life's  day. 
We  must  ever  stand  upright,  happen  what  may, 
and  for  this  end  we  must  cheerfully  resign  ourselves 
to  the  varied  influences  of  this  many-colored  life. 
You  may  call  this  levity,  and  you  are  partly  right, 
for  flowers  and  colors  are  but  trifles  light  as  air ; 
but  such  levity  is  a  constituent  portion  of  our  human 


220        CHPwIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

nature,  without  wliicli  it  would  sink  under  tlie  weight 
of  time.  While  on  earth  we  must  still  play  with 
earth,  and  with  that  which  blooms  and  fades  upon 
its  breast.  The  consciousness  of  this  mortal  hfe 
being  but  the  way  to  a  higher  goal,  by  no  means 
precludes  our  playing  with  it  cheerfully ;  and  indeed 
we  must  do  so,  otherwise  our  energy  in  action  will 
entirely  fail." 

"  I  learn  more  and  more  to  discern  the  Divine 
wisdom,  which  has  set  limits  to  revelation ;  all  that 
we  need  for  our  happiness  is  given  us,  and  were  the 
curtain  lifted  farther  from  holy  mysteries,  man's 
utter  bewilderment  would  be  hopeless." 

"  He  only  can  be  unjust  to  Schiller  who  knows 
not  the  wrathful  melancholy  of  the  breast  which 
heaves  with  longings  for  help,  yet  contains  no  nur- 
sery memories  of  the  Christian  faith.  He  only  can 
condemn  him  who  is  unable  to  realize  the  feelings 
of  a  man  who  would  fain  hold  intercourse  with  the 
living  God,  yet  finds  nothing  in  his  age  but  the  god 
of  intellect,  enthroned  indeed  in  astronomical  maj- 
esty, but  insipid  and  impassable  withal." 


T 


c.^^- 


^  ^^r  r  ^ 


XXT, 

LAST    DAYS    OF    PERTHES. 

(HILE  Perthes  was  called  to  respond  to 
so  many  claims  upon  Ins  time  and 
p.^^^  sympathies,  his  life  was  firmly  rooted 
in  his  home  and  family  circle.  It  is 
true  his  family  spread  out  yearly  more  and 
more.  His  eldest  son  Matthias  had  been  a 
pastor  in  Moorburg  since  1830;  his  second  son, 
Clement,  became  in  1834  a  public  tutor  in  Bonn ; 
Andrew,  after  a  preparatory  residence  in  Hamburg, 
Prague,  Switzerland,  and  France,  became  a  partner 
in  his  father's  business.  All  these  sons  were  mar- 
ried. His  eldest  step-son  died  in  1827 ;  the  second 
one,  Henry,  for  whom  he  had  a  true  father's  affec- 
tion, had  gone  to  Berlin  to  study.  In  1831  his 
fourth  daughter  married  Moritz  Madelung,  and  his 
step-daughter  Bertha,  Carl  von  Zeche. 

None  of  the  daughters  would  allow  many  days  to 


222         CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

pass  without  seeing  tlijeir  father  in  their  own  houses, 
were  it  but  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour ;  and  few  weeks 
went  by  in  which  the  whole  family,  daughters  and 
sons-in-law  alike,  did  not  spend  one  evening  at  least 
with  their  parents.  Despite  all  obstacles,  they  con- 
trived to  keep  up  the  animation  of  these  meetings. 
Even  after  a  hard  day's  work,  Perthes  would  enter 
into  a  spirited  conversation  with  youthful  ardor, 
unconsciously  exciting  each  to  exert  to  the  utmost 
all  the  faculties  he  possessed  ;  indeed  it  was  almost 
impossible  for  any  one  to  feel  weary  in  his  presence. 
With  his  absent  sons  he  kept  up  a  free  and  unbro- 
ken correspondence.  With  all  his  children  he  had 
ever  aimed  to  preserve  their  individuality  and  inde- 
pendence, and  now  their  intercourse  was  the  most 
delightful. 

In  1833  occurred  the  death  of  Kudolph,  the  pet 
and  darling  of  his  father.  It  was  a  deep  sorrow — 
one  with  which  he  struggled  long  and  bitterly. 

In  1837  Perthes  took  a  small  house  in  Fried- 
richroda,  about  nine  miles  from  Gotha,  in  order, 
with  his  wife  and  children,  to  spend  the  summer  in 
the  woods.  It  was  a  lovely  spot  among  the  hills 
and  valleys  of  the  Thuringian  forest.  From  this 
time  it  became  his  custom  to  spend  every  summer 
here,  and  each  year  he  loved  it  better.     It  was  his 


LAST  DAYS  OF  PERTHES.  223 

daily  delight  to  take  long  rambles  with  his  wife  and 
children.  On  Saturdays  and  Sundays  the  house 
was  all  alive,  grandchildren,  daughters,  sons-in-law 
came,  till  the  rooms  were  too  small  to  contain  them, 
and  kitchen  and  cellars  were  put  to  strange  shifts ; 
and  often  Perthes  was  the  youngest  of  the  party  in 
spirits  and  enjoyment.  His  sons,  too,  generally 
came  from  a  distance  to  spend  some  weeks  vvith 
him  ;  and  even  of  historians  and  theologians  there 
was  no  lack. 

With  great  pleasure  Perthes  led  his  guests  here 
and  there  to  show  them  the  beauty  of  the  hills  and 
woods,  while  the  country  people  marvelled  why  an 
old  gentleman  who  had  neither  to  burn  charcoal 
nor  to  prepare  tar,  should  persist  in  threading  the 
long  toilsome  paths  their  day's  work  led  them  to 
traverse.  But  they  all  knew  he  had  a  heart  for 
their  joys  and  sorrows,  and  loved  him  for  it.  To 
prove  their  fondness,  they  gave  him  the  freedom  of 
their  little  town,  with  which  he  reported  himself 
more  pleased  than  with  any  other  honor  conferred 
upon  him. 

Another  honor  enjoyed  by  Perthes  during  his 
latter  years  was  the  kindness  shown  him  by  the 
ducal  house  of  Coburg.  He  was  frequently  a  guest 
and  a  sharer  of  the  society  of  royal  dignitaries, 


224:        CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

among  whom  were  the  King  of  Saxony,  Prince  Fer- 
dinand of  Portugal,  Prince  Albert  of  England,  and 
others.  Of  Prince  Albert  he  writes:  "Queen  Vic- 
toria will  find  him  the  right  sort  of  man ;  and  un- 
less some  unlucky  fatality  interpose,  he  is  sure  to 
be  the  idol  of  the  EngUsh  people." 

Active  and  cheerful  as  he  still  was,  Perthes  now 
began  to  feel  in  different  ways  the  approach  of 
old  age.  Many  dear  friends  and  relatives  were 
called  away,  among  whom  was  his  beloved  Besser. 
In  1835  the  old  uncle  died  at  the  age  of  eighty- 
three,  and  in  1838  the  old  aunt  followed,  aged 
eighty-seven. 

In  1813,  Perthes'  children  and  grandchildren  all 
came,  according  to  custom,  to  gather  round  him  on 
Christmas  day.  None  were  kept  away  by  sickness, 
and  he  enjoyed  himself  with  youthful  glee,  in  the 
midst  of  his  forty-nine  descendants. 

From  that  time,  however,  he  began  to  realize 
that  his  life  was  drawing  to  a  close.  His  strength 
gradually  failed,  but  in  the  intervals  of  weakness 
and  disease  his  old  activities  revived.  So  long  as 
he  was  able  he  had  his  letters,  books  and  papers 
spread  around  him,  and  continued  his  correspond- 
ence with  his  absent  sons.  He  once  remarked  that 
his  wife  was  the  very  perfection   of  a  nurse,  be- 


LAST  DAYS  OF  PERTHES.  225 

cause  she  never  proffered  lielp  when  lie  did  not 
need  it. 

He  punctually  discharged  every  obligation,  gave 
directions  to  his  son  Andrew  who  was  to  carry  on 
his  business,  made  his  will  and  was  then  able  calm- 
ly to  await  his  departure. 

When  he  needed  strength  and  comfort,  he 
sought  them  exclusively  in  the  Scriptures.  Not  one 
of  his  rehgious  works  satisfied  his  present  needs. 
Formerly  he  had  preferred  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul 
to  all  other  portions  of  the  Bible ;  nor  did  he  lose 
his  love  for  them,  but  his  love  for  St.  John's  wri- 
tings increased.  As  of  old  he  had  always  turned  to 
the  Romans,  so  now  the  Gospel  of  St.  John  was  al- 
ways open  before  him.  "  Hold  simply  and  firmly 
to  what  our  Lord  has  told  us,"  he  says,  "  and  do 
not  wish  to  know  more.  Eead  again  and  again  the 
fourteenth,  fifteenth,  sixteenth,  and  seventeenth 
chapters  of  St.  John's  Gospel.  He  who  has  all 
these  has  all  he  needs  alike  for  life  and  death." 

During  the  last  two  months  of  his  life,  he  lived 
on  these  four  chapters,  and  the  nearer  he  ap- 
proached to  death,  the  oftener  did  he  read  the  sev- 
enteenth. 

On  one  occasion  he  said :  "  The  season  of  faith 
will  soon  be  over  for  me,  that  of  sight  is  near,  and 

Christ  In  Ger.  Uomo.  29 


226  CHRIST  IN  A  GERMAN  HOME. 

yet  liow  mysterious  the  word,  and  how  veiled  its 
meanings.  Sight !  I  shall  see  with  faculties  I  have 
never  possessed  here!  As  I  have  only  with  my 
bodily  eyes  beheld  the  visible,  with  my  ears  heard 
the  audible,  so  understanding,  feeling,  reasoning 
have  only  afforded  me  the  perception  of  this  or  that 
aspect  of  truth,  not  the  truth  itself.  Knowing,  in 
fact,  is  not  seeing.  If  I  am  to  see,  I  must  have  a 
new  spiritual  faculty  conferred  by  perfect  love,  in 
order  to  make  the  reception  of  truth  possible.  Fain 
w^ould  we  question  how  this  will  be  brought  about, 
but  be  it  unto  thy  servant  according  to  thy  word." 

On  the  morning  of  the  21st  of  April,  his  birth- 
day, he  had  his  children  and  grandchildren  assem- 
bled around  him.  All  were  sad  and  sorrowful,  but 
he  lay  in  his  room,  which  had  been  dressed  with 
spring  flowers,  in  such  perfect  peace  and  joy,  that 
it  was  impossible  for  them  to  give  utterance  to  their 
grief.  "Should  it  be  possible,"  said  he,  "that  I 
should  still  spend  a  little  more  time  with  you,  I 
shall  do  so  gladly,  and  I  should  return  with  pleas- 
ure to  my  dear  Friedrichroda ;  but  this  may  not  be. 
A  rich  life  lies  behind  me.  I  have  indeed  had  my 
trying  days  and  hours,  but  God  has  been  ever  gra- 
cious to  me.  Do  not  mourn  for  me  when  I  am 
dead.     I  know  that  you  will  often  long  for  me,  and 


LAST  DAYS  OF  PEKTHES.  227 

I  am  glad  of  it.  I  need  not  say  to  you,  *  Love  one 
another,'  but,  so  bring  up  your  children  that  they 
also  may  do  so.  I  die  willingly  and  calmly,  and  I 
am  prepared  to  die,  having  committed  myself  to 
my  God  and  Father.  Here  there  is  no  abiding 
city,  we  needs  must  part;  death  cannot  harm  me,  it 
must  be  gain." 

In  May,  to  his  great  joy,  Charlotte  Besser,  his 
sister,  visited  him.  Perthes  made  her  tell  him  much 
about  earlier  as  well  as  present  times,  and  with  her 
he  reviewed  once  more  his  whole  past  life. 

Matthias  also  returned  home,  giving  his  father 
a  pleasant  surprise.  In  parting  from  him  some 
days  later,  Perthes  said,  "  We  shall  meet  again.  I 
used  to  think,  that  in  the  certainty  of  an  existence 
in  God  above,  all  desire  of  seeing  and  possessing 
again  those  we  have  loved  would  disappear,  and  I 
never  attached  much  importance  to  the  personal 
relations  between  man  and  man  in  heaven :  but  I 
have  changed  my  views;  I  now  hope  to  meet  and 
enjoy  again  all  I  have  loved  on  earth,  and  I  beheve, 
too,  that  I  shall  do  so." 

DurLQg  his  last  days  of  pain  and  weakness,  he 
was  ever  mindful  of  the  comfort  and  happiness  of 
others.  On  one  occasion  he  selected  a  ring  for  his 
granddaughter,  Fanny  Becker,  at  the  time  of  her 


228        CHEIST  IN  A  GEKMAN  HOME. 

confirmation,  and  another  for  his  daughter  Agnes, 
which  he  gave  her  in  a  basketful  of  flowers  on  her 
silver  wedding-day. 

The  10th  of  May  was  the  eighteenth  anniver- 
sary of  his  second  marriage.  Much  and  long  did 
he  and  his  wife  speak  together  of  their  mutual  life, 
and  then  he  added,  "  Death  is  here,  and  I  am  con- 
scious of  a  most  strange  feeling,  as  though  all 
earthly  ties  were  dissolving ;  but  there  is  no  expres- 
sing this  in  words." 

Days  of  severe  suffering  followed,  but  his  faith 
remained  bright  and  unshaken,  and  death  came 
peacefully  at  last.  The  words  that  reached  his 
ear  as  his  spirit  was  passing  from  earth  were,  "  Yea, 
the  Lord  hath  prepared  blessedness  and  joy  for 
thee,  where  Christ  is  the  Sun,  the  Life,  and  the  All 
in  All." 

He  died  surrounded  by  his  family,  on  the  18th  of 
May,  1843,  aged  seventy-one  years.  Early  on  the 
morning  of  the  22d  of  May,  he  was  buried  in  the 
churchyard  of  Gotha,  and  his  favorite  hymn  was 
sung  around  his  grave. 

'*  What  can  molest  or  injure  me,  who  have  in  Christ  a  part? 
Filled  with  the  peace  and  grace  of  God,  most  gladly  I  depart." 


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